Of Queens and Emperors
by Sir Cameron Dragic
Summary: Akeno finds Lelouch, who is thrust into the world of devils without any idea of who or what he is. Together, they will try and find the true reason for his appearance and explain the mysterious circumstances surrounding it. His search yields the answers he is looking for, along with love and much more than he could have ever imagined.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Akeno Himejima was, on the outside, a perfectly normal girl. She attended high school, received high marks, and had a group of friends that she normally met with. By all accounts, she was a gentle girl, if a little sheltered by her life at Kuoh Academy, but that's what attracted most of her admirers. Well, that and her looks.

She was blessed with an impressive bust, which complimented her long black hair tied up by an orange ribbon that seemed to run in beautiful ebony waterfalls down her back and her piercing violet eyes that somehow managed to seem kind and smoldering at the same time. Coupled with her rather carefree expressions and omnipresent smile, it was no wonder that she was considered to be one of the Kuoh Academy's Great Ladies along with her best friend, Rias Gremory, who was no slouch herself in the same departments.

However, what people didn't realize about her was that she was also an extremely powerful servant of Rias Gremory, who was herself a devil. Outside of school, she traded in the Kuoh Academy Uniform for an outfit more befitting of a shrine maiden, and her books in for powerful lighting spells that had caused her great infamy as the Priestess of Thunder. And underneath it all, lay a cunning and highly intelligent killer that was willing to do anything in the service of her mistress. Beyond that, there were still secrets more that most of her devil associates did not know.

No, Akeno Himejima was not at all a perfectly normal girl, but she preferred it that way.

Still, she had to keep up appearances to prevent people from discovering the truth about her, which is why she found herself at the mall with Rias. They had made a big deal of their meeting today, just to ensure that everyone in the class was aware that they associated with each other like regular people, and not just inside of the Occult Research Club.

"So, Akeno, is there anything interesting you want to talk about?" Rias asked awkwardly as they strolled along the endless rows of shops, occasionally peering at a window or two.

"Do we really need to do this?" Akeno responded, still with a smile on her face. They both knew that they had nothing to really discuss, as they already spent most of their time together in the Occult Research Club.

"Well, I believe that it is important for us, as perfectly normal girls," Rias stressed, knowing that someone was likely listening, "to spend time together talking to each other about things that we enjoy, such as television programs or boys." She stressed again, to which Akeno shook her head at her friend's lack of common sense.

Obviously, no one would actually talk like that, and it was even more ridiculous to think that anyone would believe her, although, judging by the amount of idiotic rumors that she had heard lately, the girls of their school would believe anything that they were told.

"Rias, let's just go inside this store right now." Akeno suggested, attempting to make their trip seem more believable.

"Good plan my queen, as expected of you." Rias noted before looking around for an appropriate store.

"How about that shop?" She asked Akeno, pointing to a mysterious looking store that she could not remember seeing before.

Deciding that it was as good a place to start as any, Akeno nodded in agreement and followed behind Rias as she entered the store.

* * *

Inside, her nose was instantly assaulted by the scent of burning incense and various herbs that overloaded her senses. The store itself was dark, illuminated by a few select candles placed strategically around the edges, leaving most of the store in a very dimly lit state, although she imagined that the owner had been going for such an effect.

On the shelves lay a wide assortment of occult based memorabilia that Akeno knew was fake from the moment she saw it.

"Hello, welcome to my humble shop." A young black haired woman said sweetly from behind the counter, which was decorated with a fake skull and a lit candle.

"Yes, do you have any sort of holy water?" Rias asked while Akeno began to explore the shop more.

She walked along one of the aisles when something sticky caught her shoe. Lifting her foot off the ground, she was disgusted to learn that it was a chewed piece of gum and decided to keep moving, already wanting to leave the store.

"Excuse me, do you have a restroom I can clean off my shoe in?" She asked, prompting the woman to point in the direction of the back of the store while she searched for the holy water that Rias had requested.

Following the woman's directions, Akeno found herself in front of an ordinary looking door that likely led to the restroom. However, to her right, she saw another unmarked door that she was tempted to try as well.

Deciding on the door directly in front of her, Akeno prepared to open it when she heard a faint sound coming from the other door. To a normal human, the sound would have been unnoticeable, but to her hearing enhanced by her devil abilities, she faintly heard a muffled sound.

Immediately, she turned to the right and approached the door cautiously, ready to unleash her lighting powers if need be, her smile wiped clean off of her face. With each step she took, the sound grew less muffled and more pronounced, although it was still hard to hear without her enhanced abilities. Suddenly, the sound died out and it was completely silent. As she approached the door, she could also feel an aura of strength, although it wasn't exactly that of a devil, although it had a similar feeling to it.

As she reached the door, she braced herself for an attack, as it was a possibility that the sound was used to lure her in and the silence would have served to lull her into a sense of security. Faintly, in the back of her mind, it occurred to her to call Rias for back up, but she was too occupied with her current task to pay that part of her brain any heed.

Slowly, she gripped the brass handle of the doorknob and twisted slowly, hearing the metal creak as she did. Once the handle could not turn anymore, she gently tugged, noting that it wasn't locked. Taking a deep breath, she flung the door open with one hand and electricity crackled in the other.

However, when nothing appeared, she closed her hand, extinguishing the electricity charged up there. The room itself seemed to be a regular supply closet, with a broom and several cleaning products on wooden shelves. She tentatively stepped inside, searching with her foot as well as her eyes. When she did not feel anything out of the ordinary, she took another step, suddenly feeling a lump on the floor.

Instinctively, she jumped back to assume a defensive position and approached the object once more. When gently tapping it with her foot garnered no response, she knelt down, skirt rising up as she did so. With her enhanced vision, she saw a human leg, and as she followed it up, she found its owner leaning up against a wall, head slumped into his chest and limbs splayed out.

At this sight, she gasped and immediately placed a hand on the man's neck, noting that he still had a pulse. She gently reached behind his head and tilted his head upwards so that she could see his face. As she touched him, she suddenly felt the aura increase in intensity, making it clear that it was radiating from the figure in front of her.

The man had an extremely youthful face, suggesting that he was still a teenager or in his early twenties. His skin was pale and his facial features were foreign, clearly not Japanese. Messy ebony hair, which she confirmed as being extremely soft, covered his head and came down in bangs over his face, which was completely emotionless, with closed eyes and even lips.

The rest of his body was unimpressive, to say the least. He was on the scrawny side and was rather thin, but at the same time, his limbs had considerable length, giving her the impression that he was lanky. His body was covered by a black outfit with gold trim that seemed to be some sort of uniform, likely for school.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, revealing them to be a light violet that resembled her own, although they were not as striking. Instead, they seemed to have a calming effect on her and were almost hypnotic in a way.

His eyes darted around in a nervous frenzy and he tried to back away from her, hitting the back of his head on the wall behind him. Pressed up against the wall, he scrambled to his feet, revealing that he was almost a head taller than her as she stood up to her full height.

"Akeno! Come on, let's visit another shop! The holy water here is fake." Rias whispered as she turned the corner, surprised by the presence of the boy.

"Who is this?" Rias asked in confusion, pointing to the teen, who looked around, confused by his location.

"I don't know, but I can sense some strange power emanating from his person." Akeno replied softly so that he wouldn't hear her.

"Is he a devil?" Rias questioned, but Akeno shook her head.

"I don't think so. The energy signature is not exactly the same, but it is similar."

Rias sighed, "Well, what do we do with him?"

Akeno shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe we should take him along with us."

"All right, take him." She replied, nodding her head.

Akeno walked over to the man's side and clasped his hand, causing him to jump back in surprise.

"Just come with us." She whispered in his ear, giving him no time to respond before she pulled him along and out of the store.

* * *

As they walked outside, Akeno was suddenly assaulted by a chorus of gasps and squeals. She whipped her head to the sound of the noise, which was a group of younger girls wearing the Kuoh Academy uniform.

"Akeno-senpai! Is that your boyfriend?" A girl with light brown hair asked.

Looking down and realizing that she was still holding the teen's hand, a blush came to her face.

"Ara ara, this is an embarrassing situation." She stated, reverting to her "normal" appearance.

"Look, he's wearing a different uniform. He must go to a different school." One of them whispered, while another groaned, "I always thought that she was going to date Yuuto-sempai."

"So, what's your name?" The same brown haired girl asked, approaching the man, who still looked confused.

The black haired teen closed his eyes, as if deep in thought, before replying, "Lelouch."

The girl seemed confused, "Just Lelouch?"

"I-I don't remember anything else." He stammered.

"Wow, she found a pretty boy with amnesia." One of the girls whispered, which led to vigorous cheers of approval from the group as a whole.

"Well then, we wouldn't want to get in your way." The girl said with a wink to Akeno before leading her friends away.

Once they were gone, Akeno and Rias grabbed Lelouch, each by an arm, and led him straight back to the clubhouse.

* * *

It was already late afternoon, and the sun was setting, shading the sky a deep orange by the time they had returned. Rias took Lelouch and sat him down on one of the couches across from her usual seat while Akeno went off to make tea.

Once Akeno returned with two steaming cups, which she prefaced with a warning about the temperature of the drink, she sat down beside Rias. For a moment, the two parties stared at each other wordlessly before Rias spoke up.

"You said that your name was Lelouch back there, and that you don't remember your last name?" She asked, blowing softly on her tea.

Lelouch nodded slowly, "I think so, at least, I'm pretty sure that's my name."

Raising an eyebrow in interest, Rias continued on, "Do you remember anything else?"

Lelouch shook his head, "No, not really. I can sort of remember a weird shape, or maybe a symbol, but it's kind of fuzzy."

"I see." Rias replied softly, taking a sip of tea.

"Your uniform, where did you get it from?" Rias asked, noticing his manner of dress, "It's not from any high school in this area."

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. I just woke up with it on."

Nodding, Rias turned to Akeno.

"Do you think he's lying about anything?" She whispered into her best friend's ear.

Akeno shook her head, "No, I don't think so. He doesn't really have any reason to lie to us."

"Do you think he's aware of his powers, whatever they may be?" Rias asked, and again, Akeno shook her head.

"He probably would have exhibited them by now, although I suspect that they have something to do with the symbol he remembers."

"Well, what do we do with him?" Rias whispered.

"What can we do with him? I think it would be a good idea to observe him more if we could." Akeno whispered back.

Rias agreed. If he could discover his powers, he could very likely become a very powerful ally, or better yet, a member of her peerage.

"All right then, we will help you try and rediscover your memories. Until then, you should attend Kuoh Academy with Akeno and I. We will try our best to help you as much as we can." Rias announced, standing up out of her seat.

"Also, because you do not have anywhere to stay, I want you to go and stay with Akeno for the time being, at least until we can find you somewhere more adequate to live."

At this, Lelouch's eyes widened in surprise, while Akeno giggled, "Ara ara, how interesting."

* * *

Lelouch felt extremely disoriented and confused as he exited the Occult Research Club at Akeno's side. He focused hard, hoping that it would yield some answers, but nothing resulted from it except for him receiving a mild headache. His memories were gone, and he had absolutely no recollections of anything save for his first name, which he wasn't even sure was correct.

For some odd reason, he had memories of the world around him, so the world itself didn't seem too odd, but anything relating to his personal life was inaccessible, almost as if they were being blocked by something.

His only memories were waking in a dark store, staring into the eyes of the extremely beautiful woman walking next to him, a little smile on her face as she led him to her home.

Why was he even in the store in the first place? It was an odd store with items relating to the occult, but he didn't have any involvement in that, did he? Was he some sort of magician or something?

But he also woke up wearing the uniform of some high school, so it was safe to assume that he was a student, right? But then why wasn't it a high school from the local area? Where was he from? Why was his memory gone? Was there a specific reason, or did he get into some accident? His head hurt just from all of the thoughts racing through his head.

"How do you feel?" Akeno asked with a hint of concern.

"Oh, I feel fine. It's just frustrating to me that I can't remember anything." Lelouch replied sheepishly.

As they continued walking, Lelouch noticed that the buildings were getting farther and farther away from each other. As they continued on their way, he suddenly felt his feet sink into the ground slightly, and he looked down to see that he was now stepping on dirt, the road having ended. He looked to his right, where he saw one house, but up further ahead on the road, he could see no more buildings. Instead, they were surrounded by trees and shrubs on all sides now, making it clear that they were in the forest.

By now, the sun had almost finished setting, and the sky was getting darer by the minute. If they didn't hurry, they would be stuck out in dark in the forest.

"Say, Akeno-sama, are we almost at your home?" Lelouch asked, getting worried.

"Ara ara, is Lelouch scared of the forest?" Akeno giggled, leading Lelouch to look away in embarrassment.

"Not at all. I was just wondering how much farther we would have to walk." He replied, not wanting to show her the pink that dusted his cheeks.

"Well, we are here now." Akeno replied, causing Lelouch to look up.

However, all he saw in front of him was a Shinto temple, made up of two rows of small buildings lined up along the sides of an enclosed stone courtyard. At the center of the courtyard lay an old looking building that he assumed housed the main shrine.

"But this is just a temple." He said, confusion plastered on his face.

"Right. I live here since the last priest passed away." She responded happily, leading him to one of the buildings on the right of the shrine.

She opened the door to reveal a rather ordinary looking room, with paper sliding doors and tatami mats laid out upon the ground. A small shrine was set up along one of the walls, while the wall directly opposite to it housed a closet. Aside from that, the room was completely empty save for a lamp on the roof of the room.

Akeno dropped her bag down at the entrance and removed her shoes, prompting Lelouch to remove his shoes as well.

With a skip in her step, she waltzed over to the closet and slid it open revealing that there was a large assortment of clothes inside. She grabbed a futon from the bottom of the closet and slid it out, laying it out in the middle of the room.

"There is a shower in the building next door in the men's bathroom." She replied before also grabbing a towel and happily shuffling out of the door, presumably to the women's bathroom.

Lelouch looked around at the room once more, confirming that nothing else was in the room before heading to the closet to grab a towel of his own.

He entered the men's bathroom to find it completely spotless, which he was not at all expecting.

"She must take good care of this place." He said to himself before he began unbuttoning his shirt, revealing the milky white skin underneath. His body was lean, yet still slightly toned, though for what reason, he could not remember. He took a look in the mirror, searching for any clue at all for what had happened to him, but he could find nothing. As far as he could tell, his physical health was perfectly fine.

After taking a relaxing shower, he wiped himself down with a towel before realizing that he needed a change of clothes. He worriedly walked towards the exit of the bathroom to see that a clean white t shirt and boxers were laid out for him. Thanking Akeno internally for being so prepared, he gratefully slipped on the clothes and returned to the room, where Akeno was waiting for him, dressed only in an undershirt and her underwear.

"Thank you for the clothes." Lelouch said as he closed the sliding door behind him, trying not to look at her while she was dressed so indecently.

"No problem. Now just try and get some rest." Akeno said, slipping under the covers of her futon while Lelouch just looked around awkwardly.

"What's the problem?" She asked.

"Well, I don't have anywhere to sleep." Lelouch said, hoping that she would point him to where he could find more sheets.

"I only have one futon, so you'll have to share with me." Akeno answered, as if it was obvious.

"What? I can't do that!" Lelouch replied, shaking his head.

Akeno smiled from her position under the covers and lifted them up until they covered everything but her head, as if to cover her body, "Ara ara, is Lelouch thinking of erotic things right now?"

"Of course not." Lelouch responded, although the flustered look on his face said otherwise.

"Then don't be afraid to climb in." Akeno responded, challenging him.

Tentatively, Lelouch lay down next to Akeno, who shifted over, giving him more than enough room to sleep, as the futon was rather large. However, the middle stayed empty as Lelouch immediately turned his back to her and tried to keep a good distance from Akeno.

He heard rustling behind him and suddenly felt two soft objects press up against his back, making him gulp in a mix of nervousness and excitement. Then he felt her hand lightly touch his shoulder and he could feel her hot breath tickle his ear.

"Good night." She breathed before returning to her side of the futon, leaving Lelouch's heart beating at a million miles per hour.

With some difficulty considering that he didn't want to even graze Akeno, he rolled onto his back and stared up. He would try and remember more in the morning.

* * *

**For those of you who have been reading Beyond Zero, I am still working on that story, but as I stated last time, I have a lot more work to do, and I have started several more stories, so my time to work the newest chapter has been hard to come by. A large part of that is because I have to constantly use the light novels as reference for that story, which makes my process on it significantly slower, but on a story like this, where I will be following a story line that is original, I can work faster, hence the upload. **

**I intend this story to be as sort of my second version of Beyond Zero, but instead, I will follow an original story line and focus more on the characters of Akeno and Lelouch, as I find that focusing on two or three characters alone generally makes my writing stronger and my thinking process faster. So, for those of you expecting a harem story, don't, at least, not at first. **

**Also, I know that Lelouch is OOC in this chapter, but that is due to him not having his memories. As he begins to regain them, he will start to look more and more like the Lelouch that we all know and love. **

**Please leave any and all feedback you can! I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts and ideas about this story so far. Is it interesting? Or should I jsut give up on it? Please leave any thoughts or ideas you can, either in the form of a PM or review! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I really appreciate anyone who did that, and your thoughts really mean a lot to me. I hope you guys will enjoy the continuation of Of Queens and Emperors!**

* * *

Chapter 2

"Who is that walking with Akeno-sempai?"

"I heard that they were on a date yesterday."

"Do you think he'd date Yuuto-sempai?"

Lelouch gulped as he heard whispering from all directions as he entered the gates of Kuoh Academy at Akeno's side. He noticed several girls staring at him with lecherous eyes and found no solace in the male population of Kuoh, which was practically nil. Instead, he found himself either being glared at by jealous students, both male and female, or being ogled, mostly by the female population.

He looked to Akeno for help, only to find that she was happily staring off into space, humming a little song and absent mindedly swinging her bag back and forth like a pendulum. Lelouch sighed, not really understanding why her personality seemed to switch back and forth. He knew that she had a serious side, he had seen it when she was with Rias, but at the same time, she also seemed to act rather carefree most of the time.

"Do you have something to say?" She asked suddenly, noticing that he was staring at her. At this, Lelouch's face instantly turned pink in embarrassment.

"No, not at all." He replied quickly, turning his head so that he would be facing forward and made a show of inspecting his new attire. He was wearing the standard uniform, which consisted of a white dress shirt underneath a black blazer, both of which he had buttoned up completely, complimented by black pants and a pair of brown dress shoes. His scrawny frame was partially hidden by the rather wide shoulders on his blazer, and his black hair was exactly in sync with the uniform.

Kuoh Academy itself was a fine school in terms of its appearance. The school itself was made up of several large buildings, all in the old Victorian style, and was recently remodeled, so that it looked like it a modern school at the same time. From what Akeno had told him, it was once an all girls academy, and had only recently become co-ed, which explained the low male population of the school.

Seeing Lelouch's attempt to hide his blush, Akeno giggled and was about to say something when a certain red haired devil ran up to her side.

"Akeno!" Rias greeted, slowing down her pace to match Akeno's relaxed one.

Akeno smiled and nodded back, "Good morning Rias."

"Hello Lelouch, do you remember more?" Rias asked, whispering the last part so that no one else could hear.

Lelouch sighed, "Sorry, nothing."

Rias waved it off, "It's fine. Oh, do you know where your classroom is? Why don't you just follow me and Akeno. We are all in the same class, after all."

"All right, then I'll stay with you guys." Lelouch replied gratefully, having been spared from asking some of the hostile faces around him for help in finding his classroom.

"So, Lelouch, do you like it so far?" Rias asked as they continued on their way, entering the school building, which was filled with students gossiping or going to their homerooms.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I suppose so, although I can't really compare it to anything else."

He suddenly remembered that Rias' father was part of the administration of the school and that he should have made a better effort to compliment the school, but it was too late now.

"All right, take your seats, everyone!" Their homeroom teacher, an older man with slowly graying black hair, called out as the bell rang for the second time.

"Lelouch, meet Sona Sitri. She is our student council president." Rias introduced as she walked toward her seat.

"Hello, I'm Lelouch." He greeted, shaking the hand of a bespeckled girl with short black hair.

Rias and Akeno took their usual seats in the front of the room, where they sat near Sona. Lelouch motioned to follow them, but he was stopped by the teacher who cleared his throat, getting the attention of the class.

"We have a new student today. Why don't you introduce yourself?" The man asked, stepping away to let Lelouch speak.

As the class began settling down, Lelouch began to feel uncomfortable as dozens of pairs of eyes all began focusing on him.

"I'm Lelouch." He said, not knowing what else to say, given that he still had not recovered his memories.

Expecting him to say more, the man coughed once awkwardly before motioning to a seat in between Akeno and Sona at the front of the classroom. He inwardly smiled at this, as it meant that he would be getting the chance to sit between two rather attractive women. As for Akeno, he had already observed her up close, and knew that she was beautiful, but Sona was not half bad, even when compared to someone like Rias.

Lelouch took his seat and suddenly, he felt like his head was splitting in half. Trying not to draw too much attention, he placed his arm into his mouth and placed his head on the desk, biting down hard to avoid screaming out as the pain continued.

For a second, he saw the previously blurry image in his mind suddenly become crystal clear for a moment before it reverted to its original state. As this happened, the pain suddenly subsided, and he quietly breathed out a sigh of relief.

His ears were still ringing, and his eyes felt heavy as began listening to the lecture that the teacher had delved into. Inside his head, it registered to him that he already knew everything that he was currently being told. In fact, it seemed that he had a lot of knowledge about various topics, and his mind was immediately filled with volumes upon volumes of knowledge and before long, Lelouch was easily accessing his prior knowledge, as if it had always been there.

At the same time, his mind began telling him that he hated class and that he should get some rest instead.

Slowly but surely, Lelouch could feel the energy draining from his body as he resorted to balancing his head on his open hand, trying desperately to fight the urge before it completely overtook him. Without any resistance now, Lelouch felt his eyes close and his entire world went black.

* * *

"Lelouch!"

His eyes snapped open and found himself staring into the green eyes of Rias Gremory, who was standing in front of his desk, an expression of disappointment on her face.

"Ara ara, was Lelouch sleeping during class?" Akeno added, causing him to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Lelouch, how can you expect to regain your memories if you are sleeping during class? You could have missed some important information!" Rias replied incredulously.

"Actually, I did remember something." Lelouch replied, leading to Akeno and Rias simultaneously exchanging expressions of surprise.

"Well? What did you remember?" Rias asked interestedly.

Lelouch closed his eyes and thought hard, "I remember that I have already learned everything in this class, along with much more, and that I hate school."

Rias sighed, "Well, it's not much, but it's a start I guess."

"There is, one more thing." Lelouch added, causing Rias' eyebrows to rise in interest.

He reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. On it, he proceeded to draw an almost bird like shape and handed the piece of paper to Rias.

"It's the symbol from my mind. I don't really know what it means yet."

Rias studied the paper intensely for a moment before handing it to Akeno, who followed suit.

"What do you think it means?" Rias asked, finding the symbol to be vaguely familiar, although she could not exactly recall where she had seen it before. Perhaps she would ask Sirzechs about it later if she found the time.

Akeno shook her head, "It's not anything I can recall seeing in the Underworld. Could it be related to the Fallen Angels?"

Rias nodded, "Perhaps, but we need to keep him under even tighter surveillance since he has begun to regain his memories."

Turning to Lelouch, she smiled, "Say, Lelouch, maybe we should go back to the shop and investigate that store more. It may hold more clues as to who you are."

Lelouch shrugged in response, "Seems like as good an idea as any."

* * *

"That's strange, I seem to recall the store being right here, but it's nothing more than a empty building now." Rias said as they stood in front of an empty building. Immediately after school, they had gone to the mall to investigate the shop further, but it was now as if the shop had never even existed in the first place.

Instead of having crimson curtains drawn in the window, a sign that stated "For Sale" hung in its place.

"Excuse me, sir, do you know what happened to the occult themed store that was here yesterday?" Rias asked a random man who happened to pass by.

"Store? I think I heard that the owner just packed up and left without any explanation." The man responded with a confused look on his face.

"Why would they have left so suddenly?" Rias whispered, turning to Lelouch and Akeno.

"Well, it looks like this is a dead end. We'll have to try again tomorrow."

Lelouch nodded, disappointed yet relieved at the same time.

* * *

Lelouch touched the knife gently, and surprisingly, he found that he knew how to wield it with extreme accuracy. He grabbed the carrots and immediately began slicing them with extreme speed while Akeno looked on in amusement. He picked up the cutting board and walked it over to the stove, where a pot filled with water was boiling and tipped it, pouring in the carrots.

"Ara ara, was Lelouch a cook before he lost his memory?" She giggled while peeling some potatoes beside him.

"I don't know, but I just picked up the knife and I naturally knew how to use it." Lelouch replied, finding himself engrossed in the cooking for some odd reason.

"Hm, I wonder what other useful skills you have." Akeno mused.

Lelouch smiled, "Well, I suppose if you let me loose, I'd find out if I was any good at housework."

"I hope so. It's really getting hard to take care of this place." Akeno admitted, still keeping her smile on her face, but Lelouch noticed that she seemed somewhat tired.

"So, Akeno, why do you live here? Don't your parents care about that?" Lelouch asked, causing Akeno to suddenly drop the potato and the peeler in her hands, both of them crashing into the sink.

Lelouch looked over at the sound to see Akeno bent over the sink, gripping the edge of the counter tightly. Her eyes were hard and he could tell that she was breathing harder. Immediately regretting what he had just said, Lelouch picked up his knife and stared deeply at Akeno.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have prodded like that." Lelouch apologized, returning to his cutting.

"It's fine, I shouldn't have expected you to know." Akeno replied, trying to put a smile back on her face but failing. She reached over to pick up the salt canister, meaning to season the stew they were currently making.

However, just before she poured it into the pot, she found the canister snatched out of her hands by Lelouch.

"We can't just pour that in haphazardly! We have to measure it out!" He scolded, pulling out some measuring spoons. Just as he began carefully measuring the salt, he heard laughing.

"Ara ara, Lelouch is just like a housewife." At Akeno's words, Lelouch instantly was conscious of the pink apron he had borrowed and felt the bandana he had wrapped around his head to keep his hair out of the way while he was cooking. She was right, he really did look like a housewife, and his seriousness in the kitchen only served to heighten the illusion.

Looking away from the spoons, he saw Akeno with a smile back on her face, laughing uncontrollably. At that sight, Lelouch was instantly comforted and a smile came to him as well.

Akeno held onto her sides as her laughing subsided and Lelouch ushered her out of the kitchen.

"Lelouch, what are you doing?" She asked as he walked her to the room they used for dining, which was as bare as every other room in the house, with a large wooden table being the only furniture in the room.

"You said it yourself, you take care of this place all by yourself. You deserve a break." Lelouch said, turning to return to the kitchen.

"I really should go back and help you." Akeno sighed, standing up to follow him, but Lelouch turned around and forcibly sat her down at the table.

"Don't push yourself Akeno. I know that I struck a chord earlier, and I'm sorry. I want to make it up to you, so just let me do this." Lelouch pleaded.

"It's fine, Lelouch, don't worry about what you said earlier." Akeno reassured, waving off his apology. Now feeling much more upbeat at her words, Lelouch was about to leave the room when he heard Akeno speak up once more.

"Thank you."

With a huge smile on his face, Lelouch closed the door behind him.

* * *

As Lelouch looked out the window during a lecture about Calculus, which he already knew anyways, he couldn't help but think about the incident that had happened last night.

After they had finally been able to calm themselves down, he had decided to finish the rest of the cooking by himself since Akeno really needed a break. As he had learned more about his cooking skills, he had also seen another flash of the symbol from before in his mind. By now he had deduced that it meant that he was recovering a part of his memory every time that symbol flashed across his mind, but he had no idea why that happened.

He could vaguely remember bringing out food that he had cooked for someone else, but he couldn't remember who he had cooked for except that it was someone that he had known well, and that they had praised him for it.

Akeno had done the same thing after he served her later, but he didn't get the same feeling that he remembered getting in the memory. He didn't get flustered like he had when Akeno complimented him, nor did it make his heart swell like Akeno's praise had.

Speaking of which, why had he reacted like that to Akeno? After all, he didn't know her nearly as well as he knew whoever he had cooked for in the past. There was just something about seeing the hard look in her eyes disappear as she gratefully accepted some of his cooking that had made him feel oddly proud.

He shook his head. There wasn't any time to be thinking of some girl. He had to focus on trying to understand who he was exactly.

Suddenly, the bell rang and all around him, students began packing up their bags and saying goodbye as they left. Lelouch was about to follow suit when he noticed that Sona had packed up her bag, but seemed to be waiting for something.

"Hey Sona, are you waiting for someone?" Lelouch questioned, leading her to nod.

"Yes, I am. Lelouch, I would like to invite you to come with me to Student Council. I want to talk to you." Sona said as Lelouch looked to Rias, who stepped forward.

"Lelouch, I agreed that you should go with Sona. We'll actually be busy with some club activities, so we'll meet up after school." Rias said before leaving the room with Akeno in tow.

Lelouch nodded and stood to follow behind Sona, who led him to a different building of Kuoh Academy.

They walked through several winding hallways of the school, which Lelouch was still rather unfamiliar with. He had only attended Kuoh for a day, and he was still doing his best to try and figure out the layout of the school, having succeeded in memorizing the location of his classroom. After they had left the main building of the school, Sona led him down a small path to a building off to the different part of the school.

Soon, he found himself in front of a smaller building with the same architecture that characterized the main building of the school.

"This is the Student Council building. We don't have a meeting today, so it'll just be the two of us for now." Sona replied, opening the door to reveal a large clubhouse. Lelouch took one step in, and instantly, his knees felt like jelly and he was assaulted by a flash of images in his mind.

Images of a cheerful blond girl, a blushing orange haired girl in a swimsuit, a sickly looking red head, a peppy blue haired boy, a loud brunette boy, and a nervous glasses wearing girl. Beyond that, he could see heart shaped hats, a large pizza, and…a cat costume?

"Are you okay?" He faintly heard, and it registered to him that he was with Sona in the Student Council room.

Slowly, he nodded, getting to his feet as the pain subsided.

Lelouch looked around to see that the architecture resembled that of the rest of the academy, although it was rather dimly lit. Inside lay several couches and tables that were piled with stacks of paper, all except for a lone table situated between two couches that held only one thing, a chessboard.

"Say, do you play chess?" Sona asked, to which Lelouch shrugged his shoulders.

"I can try."

They sat down on opposite sides, with Lelouch being drawn to the black pieces for some unknown reason.

He looked down at the chessboard, deep in thought, before touching a pawn lightly. As he did so, there was the same symbol appearing in his head, and again, he was suddenly struck by pain in his head once again, although it was greatly diminished compared to the last time it had happened.

When the pain had subsided, he looked down at the chessboard once more with new eyes. Immediately, he saw dozens of possible tactics that he could use to secure victory easily. Without hesitation, he moved the pawn in front of the king forward two spaces.

Smiling, Sona countered by moving her own pawn.

Lelouch studied the board before taking his king and moving it forward, causing Sona to raise her eyebrows in interest.

"Why would you move the king right now?"

Lelouch didn't know why, but suddenly, a saying came to the forefront of his mind, "If a king does not lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?"

"Hm." Sona replied, musing over his words. She felt that, as she had heard those words, she had also been learning about Lelouch's true character. This was why she loved chess. People often revealed much about their natures, just through the way that they approached the game. People who were patient with their moves were often times far more calm and controlled in real life, while those who played the game aggressively often were more unrestrained and mercurial in real life. In addition, she was able to learn personal details from the conversations that often sprang up during a game of chess.

Intellect was also sometimes determined, although no one had ever beaten her, so it was hard to really judge one's intelligence from a test such as the one she was giving. She had stated before that she would never marry anyone who could not beat her in chess, as she didn't want to be married to anyone who she would not be able to carry on intelligent conversation with, but she had found that many intelligent people still failed to beat her.

She sighed. She had seriously considered making an exception to her own self imposed rule if she could not find a suitable man within a few years. It seemed that, in general, no one was able to think and formulate a strategy effectively enough to beat her, as much as she had hoped for the day to come.

Maybe this boy would be the one, as unlikely that it seemed that an amnesiac could beat her. But she was sensing something strange emanating from him, not quite Angel or Devil, but still a powerful aura nonetheless. And she was not just imagining it, as Rias had confirmed that she sensed the same thing. Perhaps it was a Sacred Gear, although that didn't really seem likely. She knew what a Sacred Gear felt like, and she just wasn't feeling one from him. Either way, she was interested in reincarnating him as a Devil for her peerage, as she could tell that he had the potential to become a very powerful piece.

"So, Lelouch, Rias told be that you don't seem to recall much about your past." Sona stated. She and Rias were good friends, as well as rivals, and she had told Sona all about the mysterious boy that was now sitting in front of her.

Lelouch nodded in reply, "Yes, it's true."

"So, do you have any idea why your memories are gone?" Sona asked, moving another piece. She planned to prolong the game as much as she could, as she wanted to talk to Lelouch. Obviously though, she was still trying to win, and was going to, only in a longer fashion than she normally would.

"All I have are theories, and there's no telling if any of them are right." Lelouch replied dejectedly.

"Well, don't be disappointed, I'm sure you'll find something out." Sona remarked, "If not, you can always just stay at Kuoh. I promise that we'll treat you well if you do. In fact, I'd be willing to find a spot on you on Student Council."

Lelouch smiled, "Well thank you, but I plan on finding out who I really am. I don't think that I can go through life, just some nameless face. I need to know who I am, and why my memory is gone."

"What if you don't like the answers that you get? What will you do then?" Sona asked, interested in Lelouch's response. From his initial expression, it was clear that he had never really thought about it, and that the thought was racing through his mind at the current moment. After a short delay, it seemed that he had the answer.

"Then I'll have to live with the consequences." Lelouch said, standing up from his seat after making one final move.

"Where are you going?" Sona asked, standing up as well, hoping to keep him from leaving, as she still wanted to discuss more with him.

"I'm sorry, but I really should get going. Akeno-sama is probably waiting for me, and I have to get started on making dinner. Thank you for the talk." Lelouch said, walking away and opening the door.

"By the way, checkmate." Lelouch said with a smile before closing the door and leaving.

In shock, Sona looked down at the chessboard to see that it was, in fact, checkmate. He had played her aggressively, and she had merely been countering him and biding her time. But now that she thought back to the game, he had only really been feinting the entire time, looking for small openings and exploiting them to great use. He had outdueled her at her own game.

"How did he do that?" She whispered to herself in amazement. There was no way that just anybody could have done what he had just pulled off, there was just no way that he was lucky. No, while on the surface, it seemed like he was just an amateur, he was clearly an experienced player with an exceptional mix of patience and aggressiveness that was unheard of in most players at their age.

"Who exactly is this man?" She whispered to herself in awe as she picked up the black king and fingered it softly.

* * *

Lelouch and Akeno lay side by side inside of her futon, still having neglected getting another for Lelouch to sleep in by himself. Over the past two days, they had gotten progressively more comfortable with each other. Well, it was more like Lelouch got over his fears of sleeping so closely with Akeno, but it was progress.

Lelouch had his head up, facing the ceiling, unable to shake Sona's words from before. It had been several hours since he left the Student Council room, but her words were still haunting him.

What if the answers he got were not what he wanted to hear? He had never considered that possibility before, but it was all very possible. Would Akeno and Rias reject him?

"Akeno-sama, are you awake?" Lelouch asked, not expecting a reply.

"Of course I am, what's on your mind?" Akeno replied happily from her side of the sheets.

Lelouch took a deep breath as he considered whether he really wanted to ask her or not, "Tell me, what would you do if you found out that I was a terrible person or something? Would you still be friends with me?"

Without hesitation, Akeno responded, "Of course. Our pasts do not make us who we are today. Even if I learned something terrible about you, you've still been a friend to me, and I wouldn't forget that."

Lelouch smiled as he heard that. It was reassuring to know that Akeno would not hate him for his past, if it really was something bad. Besides, there was no way to know that he had done something wrong before, so he shouldn't be worrying about it just yet.

All that mattered right now was that he had a friend, and he was grateful for it.

* * *

**I want to take this time to address a question that came up in a few reviews. I'm not sure about the status of a harem yet. I really do like writing stories that feature less characters better because it really gives me more room to work on characterization and I can develop each character more, as opposed to writing in a few lines to make sure each character gets their due in a harem story, so I am currently on the fence about it right now. I actually do think that the idea that Moneymaka suggested to me about a love triangle was an excellent one. **

**As of right now, I will not write this story as a harem one, but I think that a love triangle between Lelouch, Akeno and someone else could sprout. I am currently thinking that Sona could be a possibility as I don't think she gets enough love in the fanfics on this site, and that her intelligence and tactical mind might appeal to Lelouch. However, I want to let my readers help me decide on who the last person is, so please leave your suggestions in either the form of a review or a PM! I really love hearing the thoughts from you guys, as they can only serve to make my writing stronger, so please don't be afraid to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to everyone who has chosen to review this story! I really enjoy reading all of your thoughts, and it just makes me write more for my wonderful readers! I just want to address one review. N, that was just a consistency error, one that I have removed from this chapter, so do not worry! So, without further ado, here is the continuation of Of Queens and Emperors!**

* * *

Chapter 3

Sona Sitri was not one of those girls who was boy crazy, unlike most of the girls at Kuoh. In fact, she was the exact opposite, preferring to focus on more important things, like her studies, or the state of affairs in the Underworld. More often than not, while most girls were gossiping or shopping, Sona would much rather be found reading a book on tactics, or brushing up on her chess skills.

After all, she had promised not to marry anyone who could not beat her at chess, not really expecting anyone to ever pass her challenge. She had already rejected several marriage proposals, and she had been ready on giving up on her search for the man of an equal intellect to hers.

But then, he had done it. Lelouch had beaten her with ease and without even breaking a sweat. Although she knew that he was not a Devil, and that her family would much rather her marry someone from a high ranking Devil Family, there was just something about him.

It wasn't his looks, although she would still say that he was rather handsome, with his deep purple eyes and hair black as night. No, there was just something about the way he carried himself, even without most of his memories back. He exuded a confidence that very few could match, and kept calm under pressure better than most military leaders. Not to mention, he seemed insanely intelligent in class and was pleasant enough to talk to.

In the week that had passed since their first meeting, she had decided to keep a close eye on Lelouch and found herself liking him more and more. She had already been blown away by their initial meeting, but her extra observations only served to reaffirm what she had already believed to be true: that Lelouch would make an excellent husband, if he was a Devil.

It could be done, if she could find a way to reveal to him the conflict between Devils and Angels, and have him agree to become one of her pieces, but it was a long shot. Still though, with the potential and the power she sensed in him, there was no doubt that he would become a strong Devil should he choose to become one, possibly on par with Akeno's strength combined with his genius level intellect.

"Good morning Sona." She suddenly was brought out of her thoughts by a smooth voice that could only belong to Lelouch. As soon as she heard him speak, her heart started beating faster involuntarily, and she had to use all of her focus to prevent indecent thoughts concerning that voice of his.

"Good morning to you as well." She stammered, finding herself actually flustered in his presence, which, to her knowledge, had never happened with her ever.

"So Lelouch, any luck with your search?" She asked, trying to start conversation with him. Lelouch looked back with a tired expression, and Sona could instantly feel her face heat up at his gaze. Lelouch was ridiculously handsome, no matter what, and his uninterested expressions seemingly added even more to his looks, contrary to most men.

"No, not really. Rias said that when her brother comes to visit, she'll ask him about the symbol I've been seeing. He's apparently some sort of archeology nut or something." Lelouch replied, taking his seat next to her.

"Ah, yes." Sona replied, remembering that Lelouch didn't know the truth about Sirzechs and Devils in general.

"Akeno!" Lelouch greeted as the girl took a seat next to him and placed her bag down on her desk, completely ignoring Sona and fixated instead on Akeno. She could see his face suddenly become much more vibrant as he saw his companion, as opposed to the almost bored expression he talked to her with.

As he did, Sona felt a strange tint of something in her heart. It made her feel angry that he was choosing to talk to Akeno over her, almost like…jealousy?

She shook her head. No, there was no way that the heiress to the Sitri clan was actually jealous over such a trivial matter, there was just no way! But as she watched Lelouch's smile grow exponentially as he chatted with Akeno, she still couldn't shake the feeling that was gripping her.

Why was it that he seemed so much happier around Akeno? Wasn't she beautiful as well? Sona looked down at her chest, which she knew was lacking when compared to Akeno or Rias, and sighed. Maybe he was just attracted to Akeno's more curvaceous body.

Meanwhile, Lelouch, completely oblivious to Sona fuming behind him, talked on with Akeno.

"So, are we going to go and search some more today?" Lelouch asked hopefully, having neglected to really make any effort to look for answers in the last week. Instead, he had been slowly adjusting to life at Kuoh, which did not end up being as difficult as it initially seemed. After only a week, he was basically integrated into the student body, and it was as if he had been there the whole time.

Akeno shook her head in apology, "Sorry, we have some club activities today, so I'll be a bit busy."

"What exactly does the Occult Research Club do?" Lelouch questioned, causing Rias to answer as she entered the classroom as well.

"We are a club committed to the discovery and study of supernatural occurrences and creatures." She stated as she stopped in front of Lelouch's desk, "And we have a fairly important meeting today, so Akeno really can't miss it."

"All right then, I guess I'll do some searching on my own." Lelouch said as the bell rang and their homeroom teacher began another of his lectures that Lelouch was sure to fall asleep during. He took one look at his book, flirting with the idea of keeping up before his mind told him otherwise and he drifted off into sleep.

* * *

"Well, that was a complete waste of time." Lelouch sighed as he walked through the park to try and clear his mind. He had searched in the mall and in the surrounding districts for several hours, but so far, he had found absolutely nothing of use. He had hoped for something, maybe a name or a picture, anything! But at this rate, he was never going to find anything. It seemed like he only seemed to regain his memories when it was convenient, and when he was on the brink of giving up.

The sky was already orange, and he was tempted to just sit down on a bench and watch the sun set, but he continued on with his walk. As he reached the fountain, he suddenly noticed another student he usually saw in the Kuoh Academy uniform who seemed to be on a date with a girl with long black hair. Not wanting to intrude, he kept on walking when he heard yelling.

Immediately, he turned around to see that the boy was on his back on the ground, yelling in fear at the figure above him. The girl was nowhere to be found, instead replaced by a woman wearing a rather revealing outfit and possessing two wings that sprouted out of her back.

As he saw the figure, he suddenly started to feel dizzy and began stumbling around as the world started spinning in circles. He could not balance, and a terrible pain stabbed at his head, much worse than all the other times before. This time, not only did the symbol flash through his mind, but also, one word accompanied the image in his mind.

"Geass." He whispered before it all went black.

* * *

He groggily got to his feet as his head slowly cleared out and he looked to the fountain where the boy and woman had been, only to see the student lying in a pool of blood.

He blinked once, then twice to make sure that he was not simply imagining things. But no matter how many times he blinked, he found that the student was still lying in a pool of blood. Suddenly, a small piece of paper flew out from the boy's pocket, and from it spawned a large red circular symbol in the air.

The symbol expanded, and, seemingly from thin air, the familiar form of a girl appeared. Lelouch rubbed his eyes, not believing what he was witnessing, but it was all there. The green eyes, the Kuoh Adacemy uniform, the unmistakable crimson hair. It was Rias Gremory. As she fully formed, a smile came over her face and two large bat like wings sprouted from her back, shocking Lelouch.

Rias stood over the dying form of a student that she knew as Issei, although what really mattered to her was not the person, but what was inside of him. The Sacred Gear known as the Boosted Gear was contained inside of him, just waiting to be awakened as one of the Thirteen Longinus Gears, which were highly sought after by Angels and Devils alike. And now, she was standing above the wielder of one as he begged for her to make him her servant.

However, as she put a pawn on his chest, she was surprised to see that his body rejected the reincarnation. In confusion, she placed yet another, only to find that it once again rejected the pawns. She repeated the process several times until all of her pawns were placed upon his chest.

"All right, hopefully, this is enough." She said to herself as she began her usual incantation.

In awe, Lelouch watched as Rias stood over the student's body and began chanting a strange saying while eight chess pieces slowly sunk into the boy's chest in a show of red lights.

Rias smiled in satisfaction as she saw the pieces sink into Issei's chest, signifying that he was now her servant.

"Rias!" Suddenly, her entire body froze up as she heard a familiar voice call out her voice behind her. Slowly, she turned around to see Lelouch standing in place with an expression of shock on his face.

"So it is you." Lelouch said, confirming that it was Rias upon closer inspection.

"Lelouch, what are you doing here?" Rias asked quickly, stepping in front of Issei's body as if meaning to hide it, although the blood that flowed from his body gave it away.

"I could ask you the same." Lelouch responded, not fooled at all by Rias' innocent expression.

"Look, I can explain." Rias started, but Lelouch cut her off.

"There's no need. I don't know what's going on, or who you really are, but all I know is that I can't be here right now. I'll see you at school tomorrow." Lelouch said coldly, turning and leaving the park, ignoring Rias' cries for him to come back.

* * *

He reached the shrine, sky already black and bag slung over his slumped shoulders. The shock of seeing Rias do what she had done had slowly worn off, and Lelouch was starting to feel like he was thinking clearly once again. Back in the park, his mind was plagued with fear, suspicion, and curiosity. After all, if Rias had the ability to appear out of thin air, it was all too possible that she was the one causing his amnesia, as well as more.

"Lelouch!" Akeno said with concern as she saw the raven haired teen enter the dining room, where she had already prepared dinner. Immediately, she stood up from her chair and ran up to him, taking his hands in hers.

"Are you okay? Rias told me what happened." She asked, only to see Lelouch's face turn to an expression of surprise and disgust.

"You're one of them too?" Lelouch spat, snapping his hands away from Akeno, looked back at him with a hurt expression.

She tried to grab him by the shoulder, but he jerked away and slowly began backing up, "Please, Lelouch, just let me explain."

"Oh? Are you going to finally tell me why you took away my memories? So that you could take advantage of my body like you did with that other student today?" Lelouch growled with hostility, leading Akeno to shake her head.

"Please, you have to believe me, we had nothing to do with that! We want to help you as much as we can, and not for any selfish reason like that!" Akeno pleaded.

Lelouch cringed as he heard what he perceived as a lie, "Oh? Then why would you want to help me for?"

"We like you, and we want to find out about who you are as much as you do." Akeno replied with conviction.

Lelouch merely stared at Akeno as she spoke, taking in her words with as little scrutiny as he could. He could see her eyes, large and pleading, and for some reason, he felt inclined to trust her. He just couldn't believe that she would lie to her, as confused and as angry as he was.

"All right, I'll listen. Explain what exactly Rias was doing." Lelouch said as he nodded and sat down at the table, ignoring the cooling rice on the table.

Thankful that Lelouch was willing to listen, Akeno sighed and took her original seat across from Lelouch.

"So what is going on? Who are you?" Lelouch asked immediately.

"We are Devils, and what you saw was Rias reincarnating Issei to become one of her servants." Akeno explained.

"All right, and who was the woman with the black wings?" Lelouch continued.

"She was a Fallen Angel, one of the Angels who fell from God's favor and joined a different faction. You see, there is currently a war going on between Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels. We belong to the Devils and are trying our best to bolster our numbers by reincarnating humans as Devils."

"Are you going to try and do the same to me?" Lelouch asked.

Akeno shook her head, "No, not unless you want to join us. No one has ever been reincarnated against their will by Rias. Everyone joined of their own accord, including me."

"Okay." Lelouch nodded, accepting her response.

"Lelouch, I understand if you don't believe me, but trust me when I say that we are good people, even if we are Devils. Don't think otherwise." Akeno pleaded.

Lelouch stood up and Akeno felt her heart drop. Despite her best efforts, it seemed that he was still going to walk out on her, possibly forever.

"I'll be back, but I just need some time to think." Lelouch said as he turned and left the room.

Lelouch slowly strolled out of the shrine enclosure, feet digging into the dirt path. A light breeze was blowing, and he appreciated the way that it gently caressed his face, doing its part to slowly drain the anger out of his body. He looked up at the sky, which was host to a full moon that bathed the entire world in a beautiful pale glow.

On a night like this, he couldn't help but let himself relax a bit as he mused over Akeno's words.

"You are Devils." He whispered as he continued along the path.

He had been afraid at first, but that wasn't why he was really upset. He was upset because they had kept it a secret from him. Although, he could see their reasoning. After all, anyone would be scared off if they just went around telling everyone that they were Devils. It made sense, but it still hurt him that they didn't think him trustworthy enough to tell him. In fact it made him downright angry.

Suddenly, a conversation popped into his head. It had been on his third night, after the chess game he had played with Sona. He and Akeno had just by lying in bed when he had popped the question. He had asked her what she would do if she had found out that he had been a terrible person before his amnesia, and if she would still be his friend.

"Of course." He mouthed. That had been her answer.

Without hesitation or a second thought, she had promised to still be his friend, no matter what terrible secrets she learned about him. He remembered how happy he had been in that moment, that he had truly found a friend, someone who he could trust.

He shook his head in disappointment in himself. He had to give her the same chance, it was only fair. She had proven herself to be a friend, and he had to do the same.

* * *

Sitting silently by herself, Akeno looked out at the food she had prepared for Lelouch earlier in the day, to thank him for his help over the last week. It would have to lay untouched, as she suddenly lost her appetite.

Sighing, she stood up to put away some plates when she heard Lelouch's voice.

"What are you doing? We haven't eaten dinner yet. I've still yet to taste your cooking." Lelouch said with an apologetic smile.

She saw him sit down at his chair and eagerly begin attacking the plates she had spent time crafting. At that sight, Akeno couldn't help but to feel proud and relieved at the same time.

She could feel her appetite return as she watched the way that Lelouch enjoyed each mouthful of her cooking. Smiling, she sat back down and followed his example.

Lelouch stopped his chewing for a moment to stare Akeno straight in the eyes, "Akeno, I'm sorry for how I reacted initially. You said it yourself, we cannot let our pasts dictate who we are, and I won't allow it to color my judgment of you. Even if you are a Devil, we are friends, and I won't let something like that tear our friendship apart."

"That's all I needed to hear." Akeno replied happily, glad that Lelouch had accepted the situation. She had been fully prepared for him to just run off and to never return, but for him to come back and apologize the way he did, made her feel extremely glad for his company.

As she bit into a piece of fish, she couldn't help but to feel that everything tasted sweeter for some reason.

* * *

Lelouch followed Akeno and Rias into the building used for meetings of the Occult Research Club, which was a separate building from the school and modeled after the same Victorian style as the school, much like the Student Council building.

Lelouch looked around at the interior of the room, which was comprised mostly of several couches and chairs arranged on one side of the room, while the other side was covered by a drawn curtain in the same shade of green as Rias' eyes.

"Welcome to the Occult Research Club." Rias said, leading him to the center of the room, where two other students sat on one of the couches, while Akeno went off to prepare some tea.

"This is Kiba Yuuto, a second year student." She said, introducing a handsome boy with blond hair and a large smile on his face.

"Nice to meet you!" He greeted happily while Rias pointed to a short girl with white hair enjoying a shortcake.

"This is Koneko Toujou, a first year here at Kuoh." She introduced, although the girl was visibly much colder than Kiba had been.

"Now, I suppose you want to know about Devils and why I have servants." Rias said, upon which Lelouch nodded.

"First, take a seat." Rias ordered, and Lelouch complied, sitting down on the plush green couch across from Koneko and Kiba.

"You see, the Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels are all embroiled in a conflict with each other right now, and they have clashed together in the past, most notably in the Great War, during which the forces of all three sides were drained. The Devils were hit especially hard, with most of our families disappearing after the conclusion of the war.

So, to make up for the lack of pureblood Devils, the decision was made to recruit humans as lower level Devils through the use of Evil Pieces." Rias explained, holding up a chess piece, "They were modeled after chess pieces, and they represent different types of Devils. For example, I am the King, while Akeno is the Queen. Kiba is a Knight, and Kuroneko is a Rook. That boy you saw me reincarnate yesterday, Issei, is a pawn."

Lelouch nodded, quickly taking in all of the information at once.

"Now, where does this concern me? After all, there must be some reason related to that to explain why you initially took interest in me." Lelouch asked, thanking Akeno as she handed him a cup of tea.

"Well, you seem to have some sort of aura around you that makes it clear that you have some sort of power stored inside of you, although I cannot identify it right now. We have been hoping to discover your power, possibly to gain your help in the war against Angels and Fallen Angels." Rias admitted, not wanting to lie to Lelouch, who she knew would be able to deduce whether she was lying or not.

Lelouch sat back for a moment, before deciding to speak, "Geass."

Rias' eyes widened in surprise, "What did you say?"

"Geass." Lelouch repeated, "That's the word that has been coming to me recently. Does that explain anything?"

Rias immediately put her hand on her chin and nodded as she began thinking, "I think that explains a lot. Geass is a power possessed by a small fraction in the Underworld who are not quite Devils, but still make contracts with humans. They were once a fairly powerful minority, but most of the Geass users in the Underworld died in the Great War. As of now, they are on the verge of extinction, especially when in comparison to the other factions, which have been slowly rebuilding."

"A power? What kind of power?" Lelouch asked interestedly.

Rias looked to be deep in thought, as if she were trying to recollect something, "From what I remember, I believe that Geass manifests itself differently in different people based on their wishes and desires."

"Do you think that my Geass may have something to do with my memory loss?"

Rias nodded, "That seems to be the most likely explanation. But for what reason, I cannot tell you right now. Like I told you earlier, when we get the chance to visit my brother, we should be able to get more information."

"I assume that your brother is a Devil as well?" Lelouch remarked.

"Yes, he is the currently one of the Four Great Satans, who act as the virtual rulers of the Underworld." Rias replied.

Before Lelouch could say anything else, Rias suddenly stood up.

"Issei is in trouble, I can feel it." She informed the others, who quickly nodded and prepared magical circles.

"Come on Lelouch. There's no better way to teach you about the war between our factions that by experiencing it firsthand." Rias said to him before turning to Akeno.

"Akeno, take Lelouch with you and keep him safe. He might possess a Geass, but he's not yet an experienced fighter."

Nodding, Akeno ushered Lelouch into her magical circle, which began glowing red as Lelouch suddenly felt an odd sensation, almost as if he was forced out of his body and was forced into an almost dreamlike state before he was jerked back into reality. As he came back into his body, he noticed that they were once again in the park, although this time, the sky had changed to a kaleidoscope of blues and purples.

He saw the student from the other day, a hole in his chest while a winged man in a trench coat stood over him menacingly with a bright spear in his hand.

Beside him, he could see Rias gather up some red energy in her palm before flinging it at the man in the trench coat, who narrowly blocked the strike with his spear. In retaliation, the man hurled the spear, only for Koneko to step in front of Rias and block it without so much as flinching.

With a yell, the man charged at Rias in frustration, only to be blown back by a lighting strike that materialized seemingly out of nowhere. Beside him, Lelouch saw Akeno walk out into the fray, a bolt of electricity crackling in her open hand.

The man stepped back, dusting himself off.

"That red hair, you must be Rias Gremory then." He said in his gruff voice, while Rias smiled.

"Yes, and I want you to stop attacking my servant, or I will not show you any mercy." She said, motioning for Kiba to go and attend to Issei.

"Well then, I apologize for what happened today. But let me give you a word of warning, keep your manservants on a tighter leash." He said, looking directly at Lelouch, who couldn't help but fume at the insult.

As he felt the anger rise up in him, suddenly, a breeze blew through the park, chilling everyone to the bone and several small icicles began stabbing out from the ground, causing the man to laugh and to fly up with his wings beating, just narrowly avoiding a large spear of ice that blasted out of the ground right where he had been standing.

"I am not a servant." Lelouch replied angrily, to which the man laughed.

"I see, then that means that I can attack you, right?" The man said before suddenly beating his wings hard and flying straight at Lelouch.

Instinctively, Lelouch put his hands up to defend himself, and a large sheet of ice came spewing out of his hands, blocking the Fallen Angel, who turned around and came right back at it with his spear of light, shattering the sheet and bringing his spear right up to Lelouch's throat. Lelouch again tried to force him back with some ice, but nothing but a few flakes emerged from his hands.

"That's your limit already?" The man said incredulously before howling with laughter.

"That's enough. He may not be my servant, but I will still kill you if you even lay one finger on him." Rias stated definitively, taking one intimidating step forward.

"All right, all right." The man said, pulling his spear away from Lelouch's throat.

As he felt the man get up from him, Lelouch gasped and placed a hand around his neck. If the man had gotten any closer, it was entirely possible that he could have died right then and there.

"Now get out of here. I'll kill you the next time I see you abusing my servants or my friends." Rias snarled.

"Same to you." The man said before tipping his hat and flapping his wings.

"My name is Dohnaseek, by the way." He announced, directing it at Lelouch, who nodded and stored the name in his memory.

"And mine is Lelouch." He responded.

"May we meet each other again on the battlefield." Dohnaseek replied before flying off into the sky, the colors dissipating as he did so.

* * *

"Sir, I sense that he's removed a sufficient amount of mental blocks for us to approach him. Should we go ahead and proceed with the operation?"

The man looked to be fairly well built, with indistinguishable facial features that were obscured by the dark purple hood that came over his face. The rest of his uniform consisted of ornate ebony armor that was woven into dark fabric and shielded his entire body, with the main plates of metal covering his chest, back, legs, and forearms. Besides that, a large purple cape was draped over most of his body, covering most of his figure.

"No, when the time is right, he will come to us." Another man in the same attire replied.

"Are you sure about that? We already expended so much time and effort to manipulate the Thought Elevators into bringing him into our world. What if it never bear the fruits of our labor?" The man asked his superior, who nodded.

"It is only fate that he will come to us."

With a hint of concern, the other man shook his head, "But the Fallen Angels and Angels have taken out even more of our agents, and the Devils are on the verge of turning on us. We have been depleted as is, and now our numbers are dangerously low. We aren't prepared at all to fight off an assault. What if they strike before he arrives?"

"He will be drawn here soon enough. He is our rightful leader after all, and the one that is meant to decide the future of our Order, as our oracles have foretold."

Hesitantly, the other man bowed in understanding before walking off, his ebony boots crunching several leaves.

The older man simply stood in place and sighed, "Please, Master Lelouch. Come to your senses."

* * *

**I know that there is no way that Lelouch could possibly join Rias' peerage, but that doesn't mean that he can't be a part of the Occult Research Club and help them out on missions, so I think that he will follow along with most of their schemes, although his story will begin to really diverge shortly. Beyond that, I have gotten some positive feedback for Sona, so I believe that I will begin to utilize her more. This doesn't mean that I won't have Rias or Koneko as a part of Lelouch's relationships, but they will not be at the forefront, at least, not for a while. **

**Beyond that, feel free to leave anything you guys want! I will humbly accept any and all thoughts, either in the form of a PM or review. Thank you to everyone who has read this story so far!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Don't expect so many updates next weekend, but I just had to get this one out before the week started because I am basically allergic to studying for Finals. So, I hope you enjoy the continuation of Of Queens and Emperors!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Lelouch sighed as he sat through some lecture on physics that he already knew inside and out. His mind had more important concerns, like processing the information that he had been given by Rias and Akeno.

He was actually living in a world in which Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels all existed, not to mention the fact that apparently he could perform magic. In addition to that, there was a secret war that could threaten the existence of all humans, if they ever became aware of it, of course. Then there were the Evil Pieces, some twisted version of chess in which living humans and Devils acted as the pieces in some massive game that was a matter of life and death.

It was all enough to make his head spin.

Then there was the fact that Akeno and Rias were actually Devils. They had assured him that they were good people, but still, the flash of mercilessness that he saw in Rias' eyes during their confrontation with Dohnaseek told him that she was still a Devil, not afraid to kill if it served her goals. Beyond that, the expression of glee that he had glimpsed on Akeno's face during the fight was a bit disconcerting.

It was only there for a second, but he had seen enough. It was as if she was in ecstasy as she released the lighting from her hands, Lelouch could tell that much.

He had seen more during his second night. The expression that had come over her face when he had mentioned her parents told him that she was harboring some sort of secret about them as well. But here it was, staring him right in the face.

He looked over at her, eyes not at all on the board, instead, doodling in her journal. That such a seemingly carefree girl held such a dark side, it seemed improbable. One thing was made clear, no one was as they seemed, and no one could be trusted. He might have told Akeno that they were still friends, and he had meant it, but at the same time, he knew better than to freely place his trust in someone.

Before he could think about more, the bell rang, interrupting his thoughts. He eagerly swept his books off of his desk and into his bag, which he slung over his shoulder.

"Lelouch. Can I have a word with you?" Sona asked nervously as their classmates filed out of class.

Stopping in his motion, Lelouch looked over at Rias and Akeno, who were busy discussing something in the corner. Not really wanting to get any more involved with them for the time being, he quickly nodded.

"Of course, what do you want to discuss?" He asked interestedly.

"I would like for you to take me out." She stated bluntly, to which Lelouch stared at her in surprise.

"Wait, like on a date?" He stammered, uncomfortable with being put on the spot.

"Yes. I'll be waiting for you at the mall on Saturday at eleven. I assume you have that free?" She asked before turning and leaving, giving him no choice in the matter.

* * *

The room was dark and lit in a few spots by strategically placed candles around the edges of the room while a large metal chandelier that was more pragmatic than ornate in its wiry design hung in the center, illuminating most of the room in an orange glow.

The room was made of stone, reminiscent of the rest of the castle of which it was a part of. Small openings in the rafters were bolted down with wooden boards to keep out intruders, and the other windows at ground level were likewise closed up for the night. A deep purple carpet lined the floor, and on top of it stood a large wooden table filled with food and surrounded by eight chairs, one at each head of the table.

On the walls hung large and ornate tapestries depicting the various feats of past heroes of the Order, while two banners hung opposite each other, each emblazoned with the symbol of the Order, a red bird like sigil on a light purple background.

The sole occupant of the room was a doe eyed girl of seventeen, with flowing orange hair and fiery yellow eyes that hinted at the powerful personality contained within. She was dressed in the normal armor of the Order, a full suit of armor woven into black fabric, complete with the cape.

Despite the fact that the armor seemed to add some mass to her figure, it was clear that she still possessed a strong and muscular body underneath from the way that the armor seemed too tight for her smaller figure. Her hood was pulled back, revealing her soft features for all to see, although they were currently in a stone cold expression of seriousness.

She sat at a seat right next to the head of the table, arms crossed impatiently while she seemed to be waiting for someone.

Suddenly, her eyes shifted and her ears perked up at the sound of distant footsteps. The door of the room was pushed open with a creak, revealing a large man dressed in the same attire as the girl. He stood in the doorway for a moment before he walked into the room with long and assured strides, the very picture of power and confidence.

"Father, I have been waiting for you." The girl said, standing up from her seat.

Sighing, the man pulled back his hood, revealing the face of a man in his fifties, with graying hair that flowed down to his shoulders. His features were powerful and defined, and his right cheek was adorned with a small scratch that reached across from his jaw to his nose. However, despite the strong features, he also possessed soft blue eyes which contrasted with his otherwise intimidating appearance.

"I'm sorry Shirley, but I had to have a discussion with Lord Gottwald." The man apologized before taking his seat at the head of the table.

"He's getting testy, isn't he?" Shirley asked as she sat back down.

Nodding, the man uttered a small prayer before reaching for a small piece of bread.

"I don't blame him. There are several others who agree with his thinking. I do agree that we should be trying to prod Master Lelouch into coming to us, but at the same time, we have to have faith that he will fulfill his responsibilities."

"Well, I don't believe that we should just sit around waiting for some miracle to happen. Nothing was ever accomplished by sitting around." Shirley responded.

The man placed his bread down and shook his head in disappointment, "Shirley, sometimes, you have to just believe and have hope. I know that our Order is struggling right now, but if we just keep the faith, we will find success."

"What if that's not enough? I, for one, do not think that having the so-called savior will be enough for us. Look at our Order! Our numbers are down to the dozens, and yet, all we do is sit around, praying for the day that a false prophet can come to deliver us lies and promises of peace!" Shirley yelled with biting anger.

"Don't speak of him like that. You know that our Oracles have confirmed him to be our savior. They have never been wrong in the past and they aren't wrong now. You know as well as I do what he did back in his own world. He had somehow found a way to completely redirect the energy of the entire world. There is no way that he could not have been Kohryu's bearer." The man responded calmly, doing his to appease the angry teen in front of him.

"Still, aren't you worried, Father?" Shirley asked, regaining control of her emotions.

The man smiled and patted his daughter on the shoulder, "Of course I am, but all I can do is pray for the day that Master Lelouch comes to us."

"I understand, but still!"

The man gripped her shoulders tighter, "Shirley, just have faith in him."

Shirley nodded and looked down at her plate.

"Now, let's eat up. We cannot keep our Order safe on an empty stomach!" The man said, clapping his hands together and returning to his meal.

Shirley giggled at her father's sudden shift in personality. He had always been one of the more carefree Order members, despite his high standing on the Order Council and his position as one of the most respected Geass users in the world.

Ever since she had been born, she couldn't think of a time when she had seen him without a smile on his face, up until recently. Now that the Order was losing more and more members by the day, his smile disappeared at times, but it was a given that by the end of the day, he would be his regular self, laughing and joking with his friends or his daughter.

Suddenly, their moment of bliss was interrupted by the slamming of a door. Two pairs of eyes, blue and yellow, turned to the open door, where a blue haired man stood with a panicked expression on his face.

"Lord Gottwald, what is the problem?" Seiryu asked with a mouthful of bread.

The blue haired man stopped for a moment, catching his breath, "Master Seiryu, the compound is under attack! It seems to be the Fallen Angels!"

Immediately, Seiryu stood up from his seat and swallowed hard. His blithe expression quickly hardened to that of an experienced military commander within seconds, shocking Skirley with the speed at which he had switched gears.

"I see. I'll come right away. Find a way to evacuate those without Codes!" He yelled before he turned to Shirley.

"Shirley, go with Lord Gottwald. He will help you escape." He said before turning to leave, but he found himself stopped by a powerful grip.

"No Father, I'll stay and fight with you!" Shirley yelled in protest, but Seiryu yanked his hand away.

"Shirley, you need to run. You don't have a Code yet, and it'll be too dangerous." He stated.

"I can't let you go out there and die!" Shirley sobbed.

Seiryu gently took her hand and stroked it.

"Shirley, I need you to be strong right now. I'll be fine, but if we want to keep our Order alive, we don't have a choice. Go with Lord Gottwald and get to Master Lelouch. It's our only chance, now go!" He stated, pushing her into Jeremiah's arms.

"Jeremiah, I'm trusting you with my daughter. Get her to him, so that our Order may have a chance to live on. We had been putting off the plan for as long as we could so that he could mature, but we don't have any choice now." He said before pulling his hood up.

"Come on." Jeremiah said seriously while restraining a struggling Shirley.

"See your greatest nightmare!" Shirley yelled, the Geass sigil appearing in her left eye.

Fully expecting Jeremiah to suddenly collapse in fear, Shirley struggled even harder, but to no avail.

"You forget that my Geass only cancels out others'." He replied, only tightening his grip on her.

"Jeremiah! Are you really going to leave my father to die?" She yelled, trying to appeal to the man.

"He and I both know that our only hope now is to complete the mission. Nothing else matters, not even our own lives." Jeremiah replied, sympathizing with the girl but determined to carry out his duties. Seiryu nodded to the younger man, affirming his decision.

Using only one hand to hold her back now, Jeremiah summoned a magic circle underneath them and held Shirley tightly to his body. She tried to run out, but found herself sinking into the ground as the light on the circle began shining red. Through the haze of red, Shirley managed to catch the eye of her father one last time.

"Goodbye." She heard him whisper before the red surrounded her.

* * *

As he watched his daughter disappear, Seiryu quickly ran out the door and into the courtyard, where he could hear yelling and screaming. He found himself in the middle of a large battle, with various hooded figures struggling against Fallen Angels, characterized by their black wings that would have been white had they been Angels.

He saw a fellow Order member being overwhelmed out of the corner of his eye and immediately ran over to help him. Abandoning the guise of an older man, he ran with the speed and power of a professional athlete in his prime.

Cocking his hand back, he focused his energy into a small bolt of lightning, which he flung at the Fallen Angel. He could see the lightning strike the creature directly in the back, causing it to turn around in anger.

Screaming at him, the Fallen Angel flapped its wings in an attempt to charge at him. However, Seiryu spread his legs out underneath him and got into a position of power, trying to solidify himself. With his legs at slightly more than shoulder width apart and his hands placed out in front of him, he spun his hands around quickly while releasing lightning strikes that formed a sort of shield in front of him.

Noticing the strong defensive position he was in, the Fallen Angel stopped short in its tracks and for a moment, slightly losing its balance. Immediately sensing the break in concentration, Seiryu stopped spinning his hands and punched one hand forward, releasing a lightning bolt as he did so.

The spear of yellow energy sliced through the air at an alarming speed before striking the Fallen Angel straight in the chest, knocking it to the ground, dead. The body quivered once as the electricity ran through its veins before stopping completely.

"Good work, Seiryu!" Another hooded figure who was busy himself with releasing large billowing flames exclaimed. He had fiery red hair, and looked to be much younger than the aging Seiryu, although he still carried himself with the same maturity and poise as the older man.

"Suzaku! Continue to hold off those coming from the South Gate. I'll focus on defending the Eastern section." Seiryu responded.

"What happened to Shirley? Tell me that she got out of here!" Suzaku grunted as he punched into a Fallen Angel's face, releasing a bolt of fire that burned off the unfortunate creature's face.

"Yes, I've sent her to retrieve the bearer of Kohryu." Seiryu replied as he swept his arms across his body, firing off a slice of electric energy.

Nodding, Suzaku leaped up in the air and acrobatically spun in the air, releasing a torrent of flames as he did so, almost creating a wheel of flame that tore right through two Fallen Angels.

"Then we can focus on trying to hold these guys off. Byakko has secured the West, but I think that Genbu is having trouble in the North." Suzaku said as he stopped his spinning to release a kick augmented by flames.

"All right, I'll order some of the junior members over to help him if they can." Seiryu replied, summoning a large lightning strike to destroy several Fallen Angels that had just arrived on the scene.

"It's no good. I don't think that they can offer much help. Genbu will just have to tap into the Black Tortoise."

Seiryu nodded, realizing that he would likely have to do the same just to try and slow down the seemingly endless onslaught.

Even in the chaos of the battlefield, he managed to find his focus. His breathing slowed down, and he closed his eyes in an attempt to shield out distractions from the outside world. He could sense all of the energy in his body for moment, and he forced his body to unleash a normally dormant source of energy that was concealed in his chest cavity, just underneath the heart.

Noticing his odd behavior, the Fallen Angels rushed at him all at once, hoping to take advantage of what they saw as an opening.

Suddenly, Seiryu's eyes snapped open, but with a clear difference. His eyes narrowed and grew more lizard-like in appearance, before being consumed by a blinding yellow aura that began to surround the rest of his body as well. Electricity rippled across his body in waves of yellow energy that caused his charging foes to stop in fear. He gave a tremendous roar that was much like that of a dragon before he clapped his hands together.

As he did so, there came a thunderous echo and immediately, lightning rained down from the sky in a huge flood of electricity, shocking any Fallen Angels in his immediate vicinity. Then, with exceptional speed, he charged forward and dashed through the battlefield, cleaving a path with the force of his strikes and creating an appearance of a lightning bolt as he dashed in and out of the fray, electrocuting countless Fallen Angels.

Following his lead, Suzaku closed his eyes and cleared his mind of all distractions before an orange aura surrounded his body.

"Feel the wrath of the Vermillion Bird!" He screamed as he leaped into the air, fire completely surrounding his body and shaped in the form of a bird. He angled himself so that the head of the bird would be facing an incoming wave of Fallen Angels and propelled himself forward with two magnificent columns of flame, meeting the wave head on.

As he did so, he released the flames surrounding his body in a giant explosion of fire and heat, immediately scorching the majority of the Fallen Angels, leaving nothing but the charred remains of a few feathers.

However, as he did so, he could feel tired, and knew that he had expended too much energy in that one attack. He dropped back down to the earth, meeting it with a thud as he landed harshly on his feet.

"Master Suzaku!" Several Order members cried out as they ran up to his side.

Waving them off, he turned to face yet another incoming wave that seemed to blot out the sky with its sheer numbers.

"Well Shirley, it's all up to you now." He muttered before he summoned his flames once more.

* * *

"Once more. You need to focus and let your mind create an image to feed off of. Magic is nothing more than an exercise in mental strength. Now, try again!" Rias instructed, to which Lelouch tried his best to clear his mind.

After their mishap with Dohnaseek, Lelouch had decided to train with Rias and Akeno in an effort to improve his ability with magic. So far though, he was not making any progress.

He held up his hand, trying to force ice to appear, but nothing came of it. He grunted in frustration and only focused harder, without any result.

Rias shook her head, "You're trying too hard. Just think of an image that gives you power, and just focus on it. The magic will come."

"Power, huh?" Lelouch muttered to himself. The only image he really knew was that of the reoccurring symbol in his mind, so he had no choice but to visualize it as he raised his hand up once again.

Suddenly, a large ball of ice materialized in his hands as Akeno clapped and Rias nodded in approval.

"Good job Lelouch, what did you visualize?" Rias asked in curiosity.

"I just thought of the symbol that's been in my mind." Lelouch replied.

"I see. Then there's no doubt about it. That symbol has to be directly connected to your Geass."

Lelouch nodded and again thought of the symbol. However, this time, he was struck by a familiar sensation rushing through his head, bringing him to his knees in pain. For a moment, it seemed as if it all clicked into place for him, and he could feel a burning sensation in his left eye.

Clutching his face tightly, he bit his lip to prevent himself from crying out in pain, drawing blood as he did so.

"Lelouch! Are you all right?" Rias asked as she tried to help him back up to his feet.

"Yes, I think so." Lelouch responded, blinking once or twice in an effort to get rid of the numbness in his left eye.

As the feeling returned to his eye, Lelouch sighed in relief and removed his hand, causing Akeno and Rias to gasp in response.

"What's wrong?" Lelouch asked in confusion.

"Your eye. It has that symbol!" Rias said in surprise, causing Lelouch to immediately close his left eye in response.

Before he could do anything else, an explosion of red light drew their attention. All three heads turned to see a magic circle appear on the ground and for an orange haired girl dressed in heavy armor and a blue haired man gripping her tightly to materialize before their eyes as the light died down.

For a moment, five faces stared at each other for a moment before the silence was broken.

"You are Lelouch, aren't you?" The man said.

"Why are you asking?" He responded fearfully, not sure what to think.

"I am Jeremiah Gottwald, a member of the Geass Order. I have been sent here to request your aid. We have come under attack, and only you can help us." The man said, falling to his knees.

In surprise, Lelouch opened his left eye, which was immediately sighted by the man.

"A runaway Geass. Here, a contact to contain it, at least until it comes under your control." He said, producing a small case from within one of his pockets.

"How did you find me?" Lelouch asked, carefully taking the case and applying the contact.

"We've been watching you. It was our hope that you would come to us of your own free will, but the circumstances have changed, and now, we don't have any choice but to come to you for help." He replied.

"What do you mean the circumstances have changed?" Lelouch asked with concern.

"What he means is that my father, and all of the other members of the Order are under attack, and they need our help!" The girl cried out in urgency.

"You cannot just take Lelouch away from us right now!" Rias objected, but Jeremiah cut her off.

"I'm sorry, but Shirley is right. We need to take you with us." Jeremiah stated, grabbing Lelouch roughly by the arm and summoning a magic circle. Before Rias could say anything, they disappeared into the ground, leaving no trace of where they might have gone.

Lelouch saw his new surroundings materialize before him and immediately stepped back in a mix of fear and curiosity. The sky above him was a odd shade of purple and seemed to waver, making it clear to him that he was no longer in the normal world. Instead, they had to be in the world of the Devils that Rias had given him a crash course on, the Underworld.

They were currently standing in front of an ancient looking castle in a state of ruin. The various towers, of which there were six, all had suffered major structural damage, and were barely standing. The rest of the walls were covered in scorch marks in varying degrees of intensity, and there was smoke billowing from inside the compound. The gate was smashed to bits of wood and rubble, and inside, Lelouch could see several hooded figures lying on the ground, writhing in agony.

Urgently, Shirley and Jeremiah rushed forth, prompting Lelouch to follow closely behind.

"Lord Gottwald, is that you?" One of the figures said as Jeremiah ran up to him and kneeled beside him.

"What happened? Where are the four masters?" Jeremiah asked, fully expecting an ongoing fight when he arrived.

"They've captured all four." The man choked out.

"Where did they take them?" Jeremiah asked urgently to which the man groaned in pain.

"I don't know. But what I know is that they're in four different places. The Fallen Angels said so themselves."

Suddenly, the man's eyes widened as he noticed Lelouch.

"Is that him? Is that you, Master Lelouch?" He cried out desperately.

"Yes, I am Lelouch." He responded.

"Then there's hope yet." The man said, turning to rest on his back.

"Jeremiah. I know that you might want to rescue the others right away, but don't. Train the boy slowly and fully. He is our savior, but he's not ready to take on the Fallen Angels yet, at least, not from what our observations have told us. The Masters can hold out for a long time, so take advantage of that, and prepare him. When the time is right, rescue the Masters, and rebuild our Order. He's in your hands now." The man said before he took a wheezing breath and closed his eyes.

"What? You can't be serious about following his orders? We have to go save the Masters now!" Shirley protested, but Jeremiah shook his head.

"No, he was right. Charging in without more preparation would just be suicide. No, we have to train until we are ready to face such a powerful foe."

"But Lord Gottwald!" Shirley cried out.

"Shirley. I know that you're angry and you want revenge right now. Trust me, I do too. But right now, what matters is training Master Lelouch. He is going to be our new Grandmaster, and he must be prepared for such a role." Jeremiah interrupted.

Turning to Lelouch, he stood up, "Lord Lelouch. Your training will have to start immediately."

"Training? I barely know what's going on right now!" Lelouch protested, but the man on the ground interrupted them.

"The Fallen Angels are coming back here to wipe the rest of us out!" The man cried out in concern before struggling to his feet, as did several others behind him.

"Lord Jeremiah, get Kohryu out of here. We cannot risk losing him to the Fallen Angels. He is far too valuable." The man said weakly before nodding to Shirley.

"Shirley, don't worry about your father. He is much stronger than you would like to give him credit for."

Nodding, Jeremiah pulled Shirley and Lelouch close to his body.

"I know that it's hard to take in so much at once, but we really don't have any other choice right now." Jeremiah stated, summoning a magic circle. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a horde of black winged creatures that could only be Fallen Angels approach the compound just as their circle shone red and they sunk into the ground.

* * *

**I'll clear up some things first, right off the bat. I won't reveal too much about Jeremiah or Shirley here, since they will be featured in this story, but just so that no one is confused, I'll explain some of the names. Suzaku and Genbu are not the Kururugis from the Code Geass universe, as they have no reason to be in this story. Instead, I took inspiration from the Four Symbols of Chinese Mythology, which are comprised of four creatures, the Suzaku, Genbu, Seiryu, Byakko, and a fifth one that is named Kohryu. It just so happens that Suzaku and Genbu Kururugi were named after two of the these creatures, but no, they are not in this story, nor will they appear later on. **

**Now that I have that out of the way, I hope you enjoyed what will be my last update for probably a while since Finals are coming up for me. I have to at least get that done first before I can keep writing again, so I can't guarantee that I'll update next weekend. Obviously though, reviews might help to compel me to write more, so I hope that you guys can leave some thoughts on this story. **

**Do you guys like the different direction this story is taking, or would you guys like to see something different? Obviously, I can't really change all of this, but I can really try and incorporate some of your ideas in this story. So, please leave any thoughts or ideas you guys have, either in the form of a PM or review. I really appreciate any and all feedback I get, so don't be afraid to click the review button!**


	5. Chapter 5

**And Finals are finally over! I didn't have as much time this week, so this chapter ended up being shorter than the previous few, but hopefully, you guys will enjoy it all the same. And now, the continuation of Of Queens and Emperors.**

* * *

Chapter 5

Lelouch felt his stomach lurch as he saw his new surroundings materialize around him. Even though he had experienced the sensation of Magic Circles a few times before, he was still not at all used to them.

Stumbling forward, he found himself back inside of the Occult Research Club, where Rias and Akeno were still waiting for him. He was steadied by Jeremiah, who began dragging him along when a voice stopped them dead in their tracks.

"Stop right there." Rias ordered, holding her hand up, where a ball of crimson energy was already formed.

"Ah, so you must be the famous sister of Sirzechs Lucifer." Jeremiah stated, complying with her orders and releasing his iron grip on Lelouch, who rubbed his wrists appreciatively.

"Don't think that you can stop us." Shirley snarled, igniting her hands with blue lightning and raising them in front of her in a defensive position, making it clear that she was not afraid to fire away at her.

"Shirley, extinguish your lightning. We don't want to provoke the Devils. That's exactly what your father wanted to avoid." Jeremiah chided.

"But Jeremiah!" She protested.

"Extinguish them." Jeremiah repeated sternly. Sighing, Shirley slowly brought her hands down, but kept a glare at Rias and Akeno.

"Now, are you planning to take Lelouch away from us?" Rias asked.

"Yes. It is our intention to train him with the goal of rebuilding the Geass Order." Jeremiah nodded.

"Then I have to ask you to back away for now." Rias said threateningly.

At her prompting, Jeremiah slowly took two steps away from Lelouch, leaving him alone in the center of the room.

"Now, explain yourselves. Are you the ones who took away Lelouch's memory?" Rias snapped.

"Yes." Jeremiah answered, "We manipulated the Thought Elevators, which are the conduits for our power, to cross universes and bring him to our dimension. It is our belief that the power of Kohryu is sealed inside of him and offers him limitless potential with Geass."

"Kohryu? So is he the bearer of a Sacred Gear?" Rias demanded to know.

"In a way, yes. Four different Eastern entities, the White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise, and the Azure Dragon, were sealed away into Geass Codes, which acted like Sacred Gears in containing their strength. A fifth one, and the most powerful one of all, Kohryu was specifically sealed away into one person by the original Three Factions, and then sent away to another dimension so that his powers would never be revealed, as the power of Kohryu could not be unlocked without the presence of the other four entities." Jeremiah explained.

"So what you're saying is that Lelouch has the spirit of a dragon sealed inside of him?" Rias asked, to which Jeremiah nodded.

"Yes, that is exactly right. However, the Fallen Angels believed that we were conspiring to work with the Devils and captured all four of our Code Bearers, which prevents us from unlocking all of Kohryu's power."

"Well, were you talking with us?" Rias asked.

Jeremiah shook his head, "No. Unfortunately, our two factions have not been on the best terms with each other recently."

"Well, why did you allow Lelouch to come to us, then?" Rias asked.

"We had hoped that he would find someone to unlock some of his memories and for him to come to us willingly, but that was no longer an option." Jeremiah stated, referencing the attack that they had just witnessed.

"Well, the point is that he came to us first, so we cannot just give him to you." Rias said.

Immediately, Shirley stepped forward.

"You know what? I won't sugarcoat this. I don't like you, and I think that you're nothing more than a stuck up princess. Now just step aside and let us do our job." She said menacingly, but Rias did not seem the least bit intimidated.

"Now, I don't have any interest in giving up such a valuable asset to my people either. Why don't you step aside and let me do my job as well? Your order is nothing more than a relic of the past right now, and I don't see any point in wasting the potential of Lelouch on something as meaningless as that." Rias replied coolly.

"All right, you're just asking for it." Shirley snarled, raising her hand up and flinging a lightning bolt at Rias, who made no move to back down.

Instead, she rose up her hand and countered with a small ball of crimson energy, the resulting collision a brilliant mess of bright blue and red sparks.

"Shirley! Stand down right now!" Jeremiah ordered, rushing up to her side and blasting her with a column of flame, knocking her off of her feet.

"Jeremiah!" Shirley cried out in a rage, attempting to shock him with electricity from her prone position.

Reacting immediately, Jeremiah back flipped out of her line of fire, causing the stray bolt to hit the ceiling instead.

"We will not take this sitting! We will take Lelouch, and that is that." Shirley stated, scrambling to her feet.

"Very well, then I guess I have no choice but to stop you right now." Rias sighed.

"Stop!" A commanding and overpowering voice rang out.

In an instant, both Rias and Shirley's hands were completely encased in ice, causing both of them to shout out in anger. As they did so, their legs were also frozen to the floor, immobilizing them in a light blue frost. They both cocked their heads to stare at the source of the attack.

"I will not be won or lost like a prize. I am Kohryu, correct? Then I should be able to choose what exactly what I am going to do." Lelouch said in a surprisingly calm voice given the circumstances. At the same time however, there was an unmistakable threat hidden just beneath his words, which was instantly felt throughout the room.

"Well, then Lelouch, what will you choose?" Akeno asked from her spot next to Rias.

* * *

Lelouch winced as he sat down in his seat, bell ringing as he did so. He slowly let his neck lean to one side before switching gears and allowing it to lean to the other, appreciating the relief from the pain he felt as he did so.

Training with Akeno and Rias had been hard enough the past week, but with the addition of extra training for his Geass with Jeremiah and physical exercise with Shirley, he was ready to drop dead right then and there.

With the additional work with Akeno and Rias, he had managed to gain some more confidence in his magical abilities to create ice, and was starting in the manipulation of fire, lightning, and wind. From what Jeremiah had told him, as the bearer of Kohryu, he had the power to essentially manipulate any element, and had made the decision to train in every field, although he had still decided to focus mostly on his training with ice.

With Jeremiah, he had learned about his Geass in general, and how to control it. Apparently, he had what Jeremiah called, "The Power of Absolute Obedience," which he had learned meant that he could essentially issue any command that he wanted to, and his Geass would force that person to obey, despite any qualms or objections.

But the training he dreaded the most was the physical training he was forced to endure under Shirley, who worked him like a slave driver. He had never been the most athletic person, but he found that Shirley had no mercy for him, despite the fact. After every session, he would always end up the same way, caked in dirt and sweat, begging for death to deliver him from the pain that he would inevitably be feeling in his legs and arms.

He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by the appearance of Sona at his desk. Surprised by her appearance, he quickly glanced at the clock and realized that he had been too busy with his thoughts and that class was already over.

"Remember Lelouch. I will be waiting for you tomorrow." She said plainly.

"Of course, I'll be there. You can count on it." Lelouch replied, trying not to give away the soreness that he was still feeling in his legs.

Meanwhile, from her desk, Rias overheard the exchange and looked to Akeno in surprise. In response, Akeno nodded, notifying her that she had been listening as well.

* * *

Lelouch ended up standing in front of the bus stop in the middle of a busy intersection, waiting for his date to show up. He was dressed in some casual clothes, a pair of dark jeans paired with a black t shirt and a red jacket.

The city was bustling around him, with countless people pacing the streets, many talking on cell phones, filling his ears with a cacophony of sounds and sights.

He checked his watch once to see that it was one minute before their agreed meeting time. Well, more like the time that he had been ordered to arrive, but still, he expected Sona to be a punctual person.

He was about to give up when he noticed a familiar head of black hair approach him. He checked his watch to find that it was exactly eleven as Sona walked right up to his side.

Lelouch quickly gave her a once over and appreciated what he saw. She was dressed in a solid dark blue summer dress that just reached her knees and perfectly complimented her violet eyes, accompanied by a white cardigan that she left unbuttoned.

He had always found Sona attractive, but he had never entertained the idea of actually dating her, much less marrying her. But still, he wanted to impress her, and now, he was getting his chance.

"Good morning. Shall we begin?" Sona said in a serious tone, to which Lelouch awkwardly laughed.

"Let's not be so serious, okay? If you're going on a date, it should be about having fun, right?"

"Right." Sona said, doing her best to try and relax. To be honest, she was caught off guard by his response. Most of the time, when her parents arranged a marriage contract, everyone treated as more of a business contract. So to think that a date was anything more than just business was a foreign concept to Sona.

* * *

From behind a couple of bushes, Rias, dressed in a completely normal outfit of blue jeans and a white top, and Akeno, dressed in a green top complimented by a black skirt, both with heavy sunglasses as so not to be noticed, were squatted together, observing the two. Behind them, Koneko enjoyed an ice cream cone, completely unconcerned with Lelouch.

"Ara ara, Lelouch's pants have gotten much tighter." Akeno observed while Rias nodded gravely.

"Of course, we have to keep monitoring this then. Who knows what they could do if we leave them unattended!" She said worriedly.

Koneko merely stared at the two with marked curiosity before deciding to refocus on her snack.

* * *

"Have you ever been on a date before?" Lelouch asked, noticing Sona's uneasiness with the situation as they walked along a row of shops, all crowded with hordes of customers.

"No." She replied tersely, making no attempt to elaborate.

"I wouldn't have guessed." Lelouch said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Does it bother you?" Sona asked worriedly, sensing that Lelouch did not really want to be here.

"No! Not at all!" Lelouch replied quickly, trying to dispel any of her concerns.

They walked together, a comfortable distance between them as they began browsing some of the nearby stores. As they did, Lelouch tried his best to break the silence, but found that he didn't really have much to say to her, as it occurred to him that he didn't really know much about Sona in general.

"So, Sona, what kinds of things do you like?" Lelouch asked, trying to end the awkward silence in between them.

Sona stuck a hand under her chin, not having ever thought of that before, "Well, I enjoy chess, and I like reading."

"Reading, huh? Well, there's a bookstore right there. Why don't we go look around?" Lelouch suggested, to which Sona nodded.

* * *

Rias and Akeno looked at each other in confusion as the two entered a bookshop.

"Does Lelouch even know what he's doing right now?" She asked, to which Akeno shrugged her shoulders, eager to follow them inside.

* * *

They entered the almost empty store and were immediately greeted by an eager looking man. It was clear that the bookshop was not very popular, but Sona seemed right at home inside of its confines of bookcases and displays about the latest works of fiction.

Sona made a beeline for the informational books while Lelouch took his time looking around.

She quickly found an interesting looking book on battle tactics and began perusing its contents, occasionally sneaking glances at Lelouch, who was browsing various bookshelves, searching for something that would interest him.

However, her mind really wasn't on the book, but on Lelouch's words. Never had any of her fiancés ever asked her about her hobbies, which was why she had a hard time answering. Most of the time, all they were concerned about was breeding the best child they could with her, or turning her into some housewife. But Lelouch had gone and shown her once again why he was different.

He had actually shown genuine interest in her life, which made her feel like she was more than some object to be bought and sold by various suitors. Instead, being with Lelouch made her feel like she was a normal girl.

"Is something the matter?" Lelouch asked, noticing Sona's stare. Immediately, she panicked and bobbled the book in her hands, turning her head away to hide the blush that had come to her face. Watching Sona bury her nose in a book, clearly flustered and glasses slightly askew, Lelouch couldn't help but feel that she looked extremely cute.

Noticing the book that Sona held in her hands, Lelouch came up to her and snatched it out of her hands.

"A history of battle tactics? Sona, I didn't know you were into this kind of stuff." Lelouch remarked, to which Sona nodded.

"Well then, I'll buy it for you right now." He said, walking up to the register.

Sona shook her head and grabbed his jacket, "Oh, no, I was just looking at it!"

"Nonsense. Consider it my gift to you." He replied with a smile, before taking out his wallet and paying the clerk for the book.

As he handed her the book, she gave him a small smile and followed him out of the store, feeling more comfortable around him.

"Let's go eat some lunch." Lelouch said, leading her to nod as he walked into a café.

"I'm sorry, but I don't really have that much money right now, so we probably won't be eating the kind of food you're used to."

"It's fine." Sona reassured and they were promptly seated by a peppy waitress who immediately had her eye on Lelouch.

"So, Sona, how is Student Council going?" Lelouch asked after they finished placing their orders.

Caught off guard by the question, Sona didn't know how to respond.

"Well, we have been busy with the planning of the Cultural Festival and some other school events." Sona replied after a pause.

"Oh really? Well, I know you'll do a good job with it then." Lelouch replied with a smile.

At this, Sona was silent, and kept her serious expression on her face, but at the same time, she was inwardly jumping for joy as she heard him say that. Just the way that his light purple eyes seemed to twinkle as he said that made her feel completely at ease and brought her shell down.

* * *

"Look at her! She's blatantly staring at him right now! This is not good." Rias muttered from their booth in the corner of the restaurant.

"Why are we doing this?" Koneko asked in her normal monotone voice.

"What? How can you ask that? Obviously, we need to keep an eye on Lelouch!" Rias exclaimed, although, to be honest, she couldn't understand why she wanted to follow the two.

Akeno nodded in agreement, also doubting herself slightly. She didn't know exactly why she was so concerned about Lelouch either.

* * *

Seemingly oblivious to the effect that he was having on Sona, Lelouch looked at her curiously before their waitress returned to give them their drinks.

"So Sona, how do you know Rias? It doesn't seem like you two would be the type to be good friends." Lelouch asked, trying to draw Sona's attention elsewhere.

"Oh, well, our families have ties with each other, as my sister and her brother are both Satans." Sona replied, and Lelouch almost knocked over his water in surprise.

"Wait, you're a Devil too?" He asked, not having been informed by Rias of that fact.

Sona's eyebrows arched in confusion, "You didn't know? I am the heiress to the Sitri clan, much like how Rias is the heiress to the Gremory Clan."

Lelouch shook his head. Sona had seemed to be a pretty normal girl, if only a little serious and blunt in how she acted, but he had never imagined that she was a Devil as well.

"I'm sorry. I guess it must be a shock to you. I'll just excuse myself then." Sona said, standing up to leave as she noticed Lelouch's expression. As she did so, she could feel, for the first time in years, hot tears threatening to sting her eyes. His expression had changed so drastically when she had said that she was a Devil. It was a mistake that she never should have made.

Rias had told her that he had initially reacted poorly to the revelation that she and Akeno were Devils, but for some reason, she had been stupid enough to think that he would react differently this time, just because it was her.

As for Lelouch, he could see the hurt in Sona's eyes, and the realization had hit him. Devils weren't really different from humans, even despite some of their idiosyncrasies. Sona had shown him that.

Back in the bookstore, when he had offered to buy her a book, she had reacted like any other teenage girl would have, and he had not thought anything of it. And now, she was running away from him, clearly hurt by his silence, just like any other human would.

Maybe Devils weren't exactly humans, but then again, neither was he. Rias had told him as much anyways. He was a Geass user, but like Devils, he had feelings that made him just as human as anyone else, and it was clear now that Devils were the same.

"Wait." Lelouch said, standing up and grabbing her forearm, preventing her from leaving.

"It's fine. I never said that I liked you any less because of that." Lelouch said, swallowing his fear.

Looking at Lelouch with surprise, Sona let a warm smile come to her face and she sat down slowly, nodding as she did so.

"Thank you. It really means a lot." She said softly. Again, as she stared into his entrancing eyes, she felt an undeniable attraction to him. It was almost as if his eyes were attacking her outer appearance, and pulling it apart with its comforting and seemingly endless violet hues. They were just hypnotic, as if some strange power possessed them and was compelling her to stare at them for as long as she had never planned for it, but she was sure that the feeling was genuine, as sudden and overwhelming as it was. She had fallen for Lelouch.

* * *

"What? You went out on a date?" Shirley asked incredulously, fuming with anger as Lelouch arrived at the park where they normally did their training.

"Do you even understand what the stakes are right now? Our order is on the verge of extinction, and you want to play Romeo? I can't believe you!" She cried out, slapping Lelouch harshly with her hand.

"Look, I never asked for all of this, all right?" Lelouch yelled out in reply, rubbing his stinging cheek.

Shirley shook her head, "But the matter of fact is that you were blessed with this power, and now, you have no choice but to fulfill your duty."

"What if I don't want to? I can do whatever I want, can't I? Why should I have to be concerned with your Order?" Lelouch snarled.

"You're just being selfish right now!"

"I don't think you have any right to talk." Lelouch said coldly, "All you want is to use me as a weapon, isn't that right? Well I'm more than just some sword for you to draw. I'm a person, with a name, and emotions, and thoughts!"

Recoiling at his caustic words, Shirley sighed, "All right. I'm sorry for lashing out at you. But you have to understand that you are the key to ending an age long war."

"What do you mean?" Lelouch asked curiously.

"Exactly what I said. As the embodiment of Kohryu, you have a power that rivals both the Welsh Dragon and the Vanishing Dragon. Among the three of you, you have the power to shape the world as you three please. As the Three Heavenly Dragons, you all possess the power to kill Gods outright. What you choose to do essentially changes the face of the conflict between the three major factions and the fate of the world. Don't you understand? You have an immense power that is vital to the destiny of our universe, not just our Order."

She shrugged her shoulders, "But if you still insist that you don't want this, then I won't waste any more time with you."

As she began walking away, she heard Lelouch's voice ring out.

"Stop." He said.

"I understand what you're saying." Reluctantly, he spoke, "I accept this responsibility."

* * *

As Lelouch left the park, dragging along his sore legs, a voice suddenly spoke up next to him.

"Master Lelouch, why did you do it?" Jeremiah asked.

Confused, Lelouch looked at Jeremiah, "What do you mean?"

"I saw the rimming around the eyes. You forget that fellow Geass users can sense them as well. You used it on Miss Sitri, why?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Well, I know that an alliance with a powerful devil family will be important to my ascension to the top. So I just gave her a subtle suggestion to fall in love with me. It's harder to fight against a Geass when its pleasurable, at least, that's what you taught me."

"Also, as I've regained my memories, I've discovered that I don't really have a problem with doing this, not if it suits my goals. After all, the most important thing is the result, not the methods one uses to acquire said result."

"That is true. You truly are fit to be our leader, aren't you?" Jeremiah said with a wicked smile on his face.

* * *

**I want to take this time to address a few reviews. First, ramonx.0, gracias por sus palabras. No te precoupes, voy a continuar mi historia! Second, Shirley is just in this story as a kind of mentor and possibly a friend for Lelouch, so don't worry about it, cloudfarron. However, at the same time, I really did like Shirley in the original Code Geass, so I wouldn't be totally against making her one of Lelouch's love interests. **

**Beyond that, I would just like to hear your ideas on Lelouch's goal to rule over the Underworld. I know that he wasn't looking to conquer the world for any reason beside creating a peaceful world for Nunally in Code Geass, but I just think that it would be way more badass for him to just go out and conquer the Underworld.**

** So, please leave any thoughts or ideas you guys have, either in the form of a PM or review. I really appreciate any and all feedback I get, so don't be afraid to click the review button!**


	6. Chapter 6

**And I aced my Finals. Can I get a boo-yah? Anyways, Happy MLK Day to those of you living in the US! It's been really nice for me over the past few days, since I've been able to type out chapters in peace instead of having to study, which is how this chapter came into being so quickly. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the continuation of Of Queens and Emperors!**

* * *

Chapter 6

"There we go, much better!" Rias exclaimed as Lelouch fired off a powerful bolt of pure violet lightning before following it up with a procession of shards of ice that he sent flying as if they were bullets in a machine gun. The ice shot through the electricity, serving as a conductor of sorts, before flying out ahead of the purple stream as crackling pieces of ice imbued with electrical energy.

Akeno smiled as she summoned a lightning strike of her own to block the attack, which she noticed was much more powerful than it had been just days ago. Lelouch was really progressing at a remarkable rate considering how little training he had received thus far. The lightning and ice met together in a dazzling display of purple and blue fireworks as the attacks sizzled and canceled each other out, causing Akeno to nod in approval.

When they had first started, she would have had no problem blocking any of his attacks, but now, he was actually pushing her to her limits, as much as she didn't want to admit it. Over the last month, his skills with magic had grown exponentially, and coupled with the physical training from Shirley, his stamina was much higher, which allowed him to practice far more advanced techniques than someone of his experience should be able to.

Lelouch followed that up with a billowing fireball fired from his hands that spread out in a wave as he manipulated the wind around it, creating the effect that a tidal wave of flame was about to crash down on her.

With a grunt, Akeno just barely blocked the attack with a large barrier she summoned just in the nick of time. Falling to her knees, she took a deep breath, the last attack having taken most of her energy out of her.

"Are you okay?" Lelouch asked concernedly, rushing up to her side as she brought down the barrier and collapsed backwards.

She just barely managed to nod slightly before it all went black.

* * *

Akeno's eyes fluttered open, revealing her surroundings to be the bedroom in the shrine. Sunlight filtered in from an open screen door, and she could hear the chirping of some small birds as they whizzed around in the sky outside. It was still fall, but the weather today seemed to be unusually reminiscent of spring or summer.

She tried to sit up, only for her body to suddenly give out, sending her back to the floor. She gripped her sides as they convulsed in writhing agony, breathing deeply to try and alleviate the pain, which left as suddenly as it came.

"Akeno, you're awake." She heard a smooth voice say. She rolled her head to the right to see Lelouch sitting beside her, dressed in his apron. From the looks of it, he had been there for quite a while by the bags under his eyes.

"What happened?" She asked curiously, only remembering practicing with Lelouch before everything went black.

"You passed out from fatigue. I guess I don't know my own strength." Lelouch replied.

"Ara ara, are you getting cocky?" Akeno teased, to which Lelouch laughed.

"Maybe, but this cocky guy still wore you down." Lelouch replied.

Akeno smiled and turned her head to face back up at the ceiling. The two sat in silence for a moment, simply enjoying the sunlight of the unusually warm day.

"So, Akeno, why were you following me?" Lelouch asked suddenly, causing Akeno to snap her head at him immediately.

"What? How did you know?" Akeno asked in surprise.

"Well, Koneko didn't a very good job of hiding herself." Lelouch remarked and Akeno immediately made a mental note to inform Rias of that fact.

"I guess…" Akeno started, but she stopped short immediately. Why exactly did she follow Lelouch? She had been following Rias, but it wasn't as if she was against it either.

"We're friends right? And that's what friends do for each other." She managed, although it was a half hearted remark.

"Oh, I suppose so." Lelouch replied, not at all expecting that answer. He stood up and pulled out a damp towel from the bowl of ice water he had placed next to Akeno, placing the cooling towel on her head. She shuddered, not only from the damp material touched her skin, but from the cool fingers that deftly smoothed out the towel and ghosted past her skin slightly.

"It's hot today, so that should keep you cool." He said before he decided to leave the room, dropping the subject and leaving Akeno alone to her thoughts.

What exactly was her relationship with Lelouch? That was the question that she kept asking herself, each time unable to come up with an answer.

They had said that they were friends, but that feeling that she got when his fingers had grazed him, and the aching in her chest when she saw him laugh and smile with Sona said otherwise. She shook her head. The answer would have to come to her later.

* * *

Lelouch staggered into the Occult Research Club, completely spent by yet another session of intense training. He was followed by Shirley, who gave him a look of slight disdain at his visible tiredness before she sat down in her usual seat in the corner of the room, where she was content to merely observe, but not participate in the activities of the Occult Research Club. However, even though she felt that he was still weak, at least by her standards, the good news was that at least he was improving, if only because his initial level of fitness was so pitiful.

As Lelouch wearily collapsed into his seat, Akeno poured him a cup of tea, not making eye contact with him. She had avoided doing so ever since their conversation a few days ago, as she did not want to really talk with him until she sorted out her feelings.

"Nice of you to join us, Lelouch." Rias said as he took a deep sip of tea, trying to slake his extreme thirst.

"So, where are the others? Do we not have a meeting today?" Lelouch asked, noticing that the room was unusually quiet.

"Issei and the others have gone to save the girl from the church that he was so infatuated with, as much as I've told him no." Rias said lamentably.

"Oh, did he? He really is an interesting one." Lelouch replied, knowing exactly how odd Issei was from firsthand experience.

"We will have to go to the church as well. They will not be strong enough to defeat an army of exorcists on their own." Rias informed him as she and Akeno formed a magic circle.

"I'd come along, but this seems like a good test for you Lelouch. Don't fail." Shirley said from her seat.

Finding that his legs were already feeling better, Lelouch stood up from his seat and strode over to the magic circle, nodding to notify Akeno that he was ready.

They reformed in the middle of a forest, inside of a small clearing. Outside, it was already night, and the moon was lighting just enough of the trees for Lelouch to notice a blonde girl outfitted in a black and white dress with her hair tied up by a large black bow drop down in front of them.

"I'm the Fallen Angel, Mittelt." The girl announced cheerily as she landed gracefully on the ground right in front of the group.

"Ara ara." Akeno exclaimed as the girl stopped short at the sight of Lelouch, who looked at her in confusion.

"So, you must be the lookout. I take it that your group is scared of me?" Rias asked, causing Mittelt to regain herself.

"Not at all. We just can't have our important ceremony interrupted by the likes of you." She said confidently.

"I guess it's too late though. My servant is going in the front door as we speak." Rias said with a smirk, enjoying the moment as Mittelt's eyes widened in shock.

"What? No matter. If I just kill you here, I'll stop your servant anyways." She said coolly, sprouting a pair of black wings that could only belong to a Fallen Angel.

Lelouch stepped in front of Akeno and Rias and smiled.

"Don't worry, you two, I've got this."

"Not so fast." A familiar voice interrupted. All of them turned to see Dohnaseek materialize in front of them, along with a blue haired woman that Rias and Akeno instantly recognized as Kalawarner.

"I'll be your opponent today." Dohnaseek stated, stepping forward and creating a spear of light in his right hand.

"Very well." Lelouch replied, turning away from Mittelt to face Dohnaseek.

"Hey, did you just take this hot guy from me?" Mittelt screamed out at the older man, but hse had no time to dwell on it as Rias fired a ball of crimson energy at her, forcing her to dive out of the way just to avoid the attack in time.

"Now then, let's finish our battle from before…." Dohnaseek paused, blanking out from the name.

"I'm sorry, I seem to have forgotten your name. No matter, you'll be dead anyways." He finished, abandoning the task of remembering Lelouch's name.

At that insult, Lelouch could feel a vein pop in his head from irritation.

"I see. Then I guess I'll have no choice but to make you remember me."

With incredible speed, Dohnaseek charged forward, only to be met with a wall of ice once again.

"Oh, so you still use that pitiful excuse of a defense?" He chuckled before he circled back to destroy it completely with a spear of light. However, as he reached his arm back and hurled the light projectile, he was surprised to see that it didn't even make a dent in the ice barrier.

"I've grown much stronger since we last fought." Lelouch stated, melting down the barrier to go on the offensive.

With a quickness he could not have exhibited a few weeks ago, Lelouch dashed at Dohnaseek, aided by a powerful wind that propelled him forward. As the Fallen Angel created another spear of light, Lelouch completely stopped, showing extreme control over his body.

With the momentum that wanted to continue going forward in his upper body, Lelouch flung two icicles forward at an incredible speed, utilizing all of the momentum that was heading in Dohnaseek's direction, along with his increased physical strength.

Flapping his wings, Dohnaseek rose up in the air, causing the icicles to pass just underneath his feet. However, because he was focused on Lelouch's initial attack, he had no time to react when Lelouch fired off a bolt of electricity and then a small fireball in quickly succession.

The electricity seared his coat and sent shockwaves of pain through his body before the fireball met his chest as well, knocking him out of the air as the extreme heat charred his skin.

Lelouch took advantage of his momentary weakness by sheathing his right arm in ice, making that arm a blue blade that acted as an extension of his own body. With his left arm, he fired off a gust of wind that propelled him forward into Dohnaseek, who got to his feet and created a spear of light just in time to meet Lelouch's blade.

The two weapons met harshly, blue and white sparks flying from the force of the impact as their owners desperately struggled to gain an advantage. However, finding that their strengths were equal, the two parties backed away before coming together and engaging once more, blades clanging against each other.

Lelouch swung his right arm forward, and, finding it blocked, quickly used the momentum of his first attack to spin and deliver yet another slash that was blocked, and then another, and another, stabs and slashes flowing within each other naturally. With the smoothness of a river, Lelouch kept up his assault, not caring if one attacked was blocked, as each missed attack only served to fuel another, which acted as the impetus for another, in a cycle that made him seem like he was performing some sort of deadly ballet, rather than fighting.

Akeno watched the display with fascination and ecstasy from her place beside Rias, who just finished firing one last shot of crimson into Kalawarner's now lifeless corpse, one that joined Mittelt's body, which still lay where Akeno had shocked her to death. The way that Lelouch masterfully manipulated the various elements and transformed them into something different with unparalleled creativity and skill made her heart pound. It was unnatural, she knew, but she couldn't help it. She loved doing battle, and watching someone who was so adept at it excited her, as much as she didn't want to believe it.

Getting impatient with merely blocking, Dohnaseek hopped back, avoiding an attack, and unleashed his fury in a powerful and clumsy swing of his spear, only to see Lelouch sidestep the attack.

In slow motion, he could see Lelouch's eyes narrow in focus and a smirk come over his face, as he could see that he had the advantage. On the other hand, Dohnaseek's eyes widened in surprise at Lelouch's speed and a frown overcame his face.

Immediately sensing the weakness of Dohnaseek, Lelouch viciously stabbed his blade into the Fallen Angel's side, sending blood flying as he did so. With a scream of pain, Dohnaseek tried to free himself from the blade, only to collapse in even more pain as electricity began coursing through his body, causing his heart to beat rapidly as electricity was zapped through it and for the rest of his organs to begin convulsing as they were pushed far past their limits.

"See, ice is not the perfect conductor, but it works well enough for me to send waves of electricity through you. Right now, your heart should be beating twice as fast as it normally does. Beyond that, the rest of your organs should be working in overdrive. One by one, they will shut down once they cannot continue on, and you will die." Lelouch said coldly as he continued sending waves upon waves of electricity through the Fallen Angel's body.

"But, before it all goes black for you, let me refresh your memory a bit. My name is Lelouch, take care that you remember it in whatever circle of hell you get sent to."

With that, Lelouch unleashed one final surge of electricity, causing Dohnaseek to cry out in agony one last time before his heart stopped completely, worked to death. Lelouch swiftly removed his blade, a smirk on his face, before he turned to face Akeno and Rias, who looked at him in a mix of wonder for Akeno and concern for Rias.

"Now then, should we go and help out Issei?" Lelouch said, shaking his hand free of the blood from Dohnaseek's body.

Nodding, Akeno and Rias sprouted large bat wings and picked up Lelouch, carrying him along with them as they flew into the church. Landing just in front of the entrance, he opened up the door to see Koneko and Kiba fighting off dozens of priests, all armed with various swords and guns.

Lelouch and Rias frowned collectively as they entered the fight, meaning to end it as quickly as possible.

Rias summoned her usual attack of crimson energy, which Lelouch had learned was called the "Power of Destruction," and was the special technique of the Gremory clan. For his part, Lelouch weaved through the crowd of priest, blasting away at them with flames that chewed through their swords and guns of light, and powerful winds that sent them flying into the roof.

He reached back and tossed a lightning bolt that pierced straight through one exorcist's heart before he turned around and, using a combination of wind and fire, swept away a group of them in a sea of flames.

"Continue on, Lelouch! We will take care of the rest. Just attend to Issei." Rias ordered.

Nodding, Lelouch continued on through the church to find Issei crying over the body of a blond girl, finding the scene oddly familiar. Suddenly, his body was struck by a vivid memory.

* * *

_Lelouch frantically whipped out his phone to call for help, but he felt a gentle hand stop him. His eyes widened as he realized that this might be the last time that Shirley would touch him. Her touch was so gentle and light, like that of an angel. He quickly let the sensation burn into his memory. _

"_Lulu. I'm glad that we could talk in the end." Shirley said with a faint smile. He wanted to yell at her. To tell her to stop joking around, as if the blood pooling around her body was fake. But he could do nothing more than to stare on, shocked._

"_You know, when my memories came back, I was so scared. A fake teacher, friends with no memories. Everyone was lying to me. It was as if the whole world was watching me." She managed, weak from the blood loss. _

"_Lulu, you've been fighting against the world all by yourself. That's why I wanted to become the one thing truthful to you." _

"_Shirley." Lelouch whispered._

"_I love you Lelouch." It hit him once again. Euphemia had once loved him, that's why she had been willing to trust him. It was that trust that led to her death. And once again, someone's love for him was leading to their death._

"_Even when I knew you killed my father, I couldn't hate you. Even when you tried to make me forget everything, I still fell in love with you again. Even when my memories were altered, I still fell in love with you again."_

"_No! Don't die Shirley!" Lelouch screamed, ripping out his contact. He never really acknowledged it, but he had always had some feelings for Shirley, although they may not have been romantic in nature. Maybe it was the fact that he felt guilty about her father's death and he wanted to make it up to her. But he knew he was lying to himself. It wasn't just guilt that led him to care about her. At first, her infatuation with him had gone unnoticed. As far as he was concerned, she was just another fan girl. But somewhere along the way, she had won him over. _

_Even if he had never fallen in love with her, he wanted to at least be her friend. His conscious wouldn't let him just leave her alone. But his actions had just caused her even more pain. Now, she was slipping away from him right before his eyes. He would not lose her. He refused. He was the Man of Miracles! He wouldn't let something as pedestrian as a gunshot take away one of the only people he ever cared about!_

_Her eyes were rimmed in red and for a second, Lelouch felt a glimmer of hope. _

"_No matter how many times I'm reborn, I'm sure I'll fall in love with you again." No. She shouldn't be talking this way. His Geass had taken hold. She was going to live through it. _

"_This is fate, right?" She whispered softly. Lelouch finally felt the blood reach his knees. His jeans would be ruined forever. He would never be able to wash the sin away from his clothes. The blood only added to the message he received every time he inspected his wardrobe, a visual representation of the blood he had spilled over the years._

"_Don't die Shirley! Don't die! Don't die!" He screamed out uselessly, the tears flowing freely. It had occurred to him that his Geass couldn't save her now. He could see her eye lids slowly closing. She was trying to fight the inevitable, but it was clear that she was losing. _

"_So it's okay, right Lelouch? That I fall in love with you when I'm reborn… No matter how many times, I fall in love with you…" She trailed off, finally losing the battle as her eyes shut for the last time. Her grip loosened and it fell from his hand, smacking against the puddle of blood that had formed around her body._

_Numb. He was numb. It faintly registered somewhere in his mind that Shirley was dead. It faintly occurred to him that he would never see her caring smile, or her well intentioned scolding ever again. He would never laugh with her at the memory of some antic that Milly had pulled. He would never hold her in his arms and comfort her ever again. The finality of death would prevent all of that. _

"_Shirley." He gasped. Her face was peaceful, without any hint of the pain or sadness that she had suffered through all of her life. It was almost as if she was simply taking a nap, instead of being murdered. The fear and pain that she must have felt when she realized that she was living in a fake world with fake people, he had caused. _

_It was all his fault. If it wasn't for him, she would still be alive. She didn't deserve any of the pain he had caused her. Her father should have been with her all of this time. He should have been by her side. She deserved all of what she was going to get from life. She didn't deserve to die._

_For a moment, he kneeled there, dumbfounded with her body still resting in his arms. As his mind returned to his body and he felt the weight of her still form on his hand, he knew without a doubt that it was real._

* * *

As his body recovered from the usual sensation that brought him to his knees every time his memory returned, Lelouch felt a strange sort of kinship with Issei, as if they were sharing the same pain. In essence, they were. They were both experiencing the loss of a loved one, although Lelouch's had been under much different circumstances. But, why was it that he had seen Shirley die, when she was alive and well in front of his eyes?

"What is going on?" He gasped as he pushed his body up on all fours.

"Asia." Issei wept one more for the loss of the blond girl. Entering the room to see Lelouch incapacitated, Rias walked up to Issei and kneeled down beside him.

"Do you know what this is?" She asked, holding up a bishop.

"A bishop piece." Issei responded.

"Yes, I still have one more bishop to use." Rias placed the bishop on Asia's chest.

"I command thee, Asia Argento, on my name, Rias Gremory, become my servant and once more return thy soul to this land and become a Devil. Thou shall now live a new life with great joy as my bishop!"

The magic circle shined brightly and the bishop embedded itself inside of her chest. As the light died down, Asia's eyes began to flutter open.

"Issei?" She called out weakly.

"Issei, you're her senior Devil now, so make sure you protect her." Rias said, nodding in approval.

"Right Buchou!" Issei replied as he hugged Asia.

As she watched the way that Asia's face lit up as Issei embraced her, Akeno couldn't help but to turn and look at Lelouch, who had returned to his feet and watched the two with marked interest. On one hand, he didn't look particularly happy for them, but at the same time, she sensed that he wasn't exactly thinking about them either.

Returning her gaze once more to Asia, Akeno recognized the look that she was currently giving Issei. It was a look of love, the same one that she had seen Sona give Lelouch.

Suddenly, it hit her. What she really wanted, was for Lelouch to give her that look. Because, the truth was…no, it was possible that…she had feelings for him. She didn't understand how or why, but she was attracted to him. Maybe it was the fact that he was handsome, or that his fighting that had appealed to the sadist in her.

But most of all, it was the fact that he cared about her, and that he had been willing to accept her, despite his reservations. He didn't know her entire past, not yet. But he had told her before that he would not judge her for her past, and she believed him.

All her life, she just wanted to be accepted by someone. And now, she had found someone who was willing to accept her for who she was and still be friends with her. It felt nice to know that she was accepted by someone, and even better to know that that someone was Lelouch.

But now, she wanted more than that. She didn't want him to just accept her as a friend, but as something more, something much more intimate. And she wasn't going to let anyone stop her, Devil or otherwise. Lelouch was going to be hers, whether Sona accepted it or not.

* * *

**I think I was misunderstood last chapter when I said that Lelouch would conquer the Underworld because it was badass. I was referring to the act itself, not his motivation, so obviously, he'll have a legitimate reason, but let's be honest, it's what we all want to see him do. Also, for anyone who hated Lelouch's use of Geass on Sona, let me just remind you that Lelouch is not always what he seems, and he never shows his cards right away, not even to someone close like Jeremiah. **

**Besides that, Akeno has now acknowledged her feelings for Lelouch, and the competition between her and Sona can now officially start. If I'm going to be honest, I have no idea who is going to win currently, or if I'll even have a winner. After all, this is a fanfic and harem endings are totally possible, especially for a player like Lelouch. However, this is something I will leave up to you guys, the readers. Do you guys want a definitive winner, or would a harem be more appropriate? **

**Please leave any and all thoughts or ideas, either in the form of a review or a PM. I really appreciate any and all thoughts I can get, especially for a story that I've gotten attached to. Usually, I can tell exactly how committed I will be to a story after a few chapters and some initial feedback, and I have to say, this story has been near the top of my list in terms of just ease of writing and how much I want to update every week, so every review means that much more to me. **

**Thank you all for reading so far! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you to anyone who reviewed so far! I really appreciate each and every review I got, and I took all of your ideas into consideration when I planned out the direction of this story, so thank you all for helping out with that! So without further ado, the continuation of Of Queens and Emperors.**

* * *

Chapter 7

"Here." Koneko said in her usual monotone as she dropped a beaten Raynare in front of Rias, who looked down at the Fallen Angel with disgust written out on her face. She was not partial to Fallen Angels in general, and the fact that Raynare had threatened the lives of her servants did not help at all. In fact, right now, Rias was livid with the Fallen Angel in front of her.

"I think you know who I am." Rias said threateningly as Koneko roughly pulled Raynare's head up by her hair, causing her to wince in pain before looking upon Rias' figure. As she did, Raynare's eyes widened in fear.

"Rias Gremory! The next head of the Gremory Clan!" She cried out in surprise, causing Rias to chuckle. She truly loved seeing the fear in her enemy's eyes.

"Ah, so you do know who I am." She responded with delight evident in her voice. She was going to enjoy this for all it was worth.

"But you don't understand! I have help just waiting outside!" Raynare cried out desperately, grasping for any hope she could in the situation. Right now, only the tiny glimmer of hope that her friends were coming to save her gave Raynare any solace.

"Sorry, but they won't be coming to help you anytime soon." Rias replied coldly, dropping three black feathers on the ground. As she watched them slowly drift down through the air, Raynare's face visibly dampened and she closed her eyes in mourning for her friends.

"Please, Issei, you can't let this happen to me!" Raynare asked with pleading eyes, trying to appeal to the pawn, who looked to be on the edge of intervening.

However, Rias raised her hands up and scowled, "Don't try and solicit help from my servants."

"That's enough." Lelouch interrupted, stepping in front of Rias after slight hesitation. There was something about Raynare that made him feel as if he had to save her, even if it meant defying Rias. He didn't know what it was, but he trusted his instincts enough to follow through and act upon them.

"Lelouch? Get out of my way right now." Rias ordered, but Lelouch would not budge.

"I will take responsibility for this Fallen Angel. You have my word." Lelouch said, causing Rias to put her hand down.

"Why are you so interested in her?" Rias asked. As far as she was concerned, a Fallen Angel was scum, nothing more, and deserved to be treated like one. Although, she supposed that since Lelouch wasn't a Devil himself, he did not think in the same way that she did.

"I would like to see how a Geass manifests itself in a Fallen Angel, nothing more." Lelouch replied.

Reluctantly, Rias lowered her arm, satisfied with the answer.

"Very well. I will allow this exception. You may take her." Rias said, forming a magic circle on the floor, into which all of her servants stepped inside. Without a second look at Lelouch, she began the incantation to return back to the Occult Research Club. Right now, she just wanted to be as far away as she could from Raynare.

As the group disappeared, Lelouch turned to look at the Fallen Angel cowering on the floor.

"Now then, what to do with you?" He said as Raynare continued to look at him with scared eyes.

"Are you going to hurt me?" Raynare asked feebishly from her position on the floor.

Smiling warmly, Lelouch shook his head, "No. I promise I won't. That is, if you choose to join me."

Seeing no other option in front of her, given that she would either be killed by the Gremory heir, or by her superiors in exchange for her failure, Raynare reluctantly nodded her head.

* * *

"Wake up already!" Raynare admonished, lightly shoving Lelouch, receiving a lazy grunt in reply.

"You're truly hopeless." Raynare muttered as she tried to escape his iron grip around her, as he had been unconsciously hugging her close to his body all night, not that she really minded anyways. Still, it was hard to sleep when her body was constantly rubbing against Lelouch's…developed body.

"Seriously, get up!" She shouted, smacking him lightly in the head, causing him to groggily sit up, unintentionally dragging her along with his powerful arms, a result of Shirley's training. Squealing in surprise, Raynare immediately blushed and covered her mouth.

"Ara ara, what is this?" Akeno giggled as woke up next to them, all three having shared the same futon, although Raynare could sense hidden venom underneath the Devil's smile. All last night, Akeno had the same smile on, but Raynare could tell that underneath her cheerful surface, Akeno was not excited to be around her.

"Akeno, it's not what it seems!" Lelouch stammered, releasing his grip on Raynare's body and raising his hands up in surrender.

As she watched Lelouch's reaction to her remark, Akeno couldn't help but laugh. Even after he regained his memories, Lelouch was still acting like the same shy boy he had been when they found him in the occult store.

While part of her was relieved that he had not really changed, part of her was also disappointed at that fact. He still treated her like she was just his friend, which was true, for the time being. And this treatment made her scared. Scared that he would reject her if she confessed her feelings. They were friends, and it seemed like such a delicate situation that she could easily destroy if she told him her true feelings for him.

Although she didn't want him to continue dating Sona, at the same time, she valued his friendship. She sighed and reluctantly, she made her decision. She couldn't tell him the truth, not yet. The time would come, if it was meant to be. She just hoped that time would come soon.

* * *

Lelouch walked into the Occult Research Club to find that it was completely empty save for Jeremiah, who was currently reclining on a coach, book in hand. Deciding that he would not get a better chance, Lelouch asked the dreaded question.

"Jeremiah, I want you to tell me. Why did I have a memory concerning Shirley? As far as I'm concerned, I should never have met her in this world before, so I would like to know exactly what is going on." Lelouch demanded.

Jeremiah instantly set down the book that he had been reading and looked at Lelouch in surprise.

"How did you find that memory?" He asked.

"It came to me when I saw Asia's body. It was just like any other time I recovered part of my memory, only this time, it was far more vivid." Lelouch explained.

"I guess that as your memories return to you with more frequency, they also return with more intensity." Jeremiah remarked.

"Stop avoiding the topic. I demand to know the truth." Lelouch said sternly.

Jeremiah sighed, "Fine. The truth is, Shirley was the test subject, if you will. We weren't entirely confident in our manipulation of the Thought Elevators, and we needed a test subject. It had to be someone who would not be noticed if they were missing, so we picked her consciousness, just before she died."

"So she's from my original world as well?" Lelouch asked, to which Jeremiah nodded.

"However, she has absolutely no knowledge of this fact, as we manipulated her memories with Geass and gave her a new identity as a member of the Geass Order. I would advise you against informing her as well. Right now, due to the capture of Master Seiryu, her adopted father, she is in emotional distress, and we would not want to add to that." Jeremiah advised.

"So am I supposed to pretend that I know nothing?" Lelouch asked.

"Yes. At least for now, we cannot reveal the truth. Not until she is ready." Jeremiah replied.

Before they could continue, the door creaked open and immediately, their mouths shut, as they did npt want the intruder to hear what they were talking about, although the look that Jeremiah gave Lelouch guaranteed that they were not finished with their discussion.

In the doorway stood Raynare, dressed in a Kuoh Academy uniform, as she had just been recently enrolled in the school as a new second year transfer student. As he noticed the girl, Jeremiah nodded to Lelouch before standing up and leaving the room without a word directed at either the Fallen Angel or Lelouch.

"Ah, Raynare, how are adjusting to school?" Lelouch asked, taking a seat on the couch and reclining back into a comfortable position, propping his feet up on the table in front of him.

"Well, I'm going by my human name, Yuuma Amano right now, but other than that, it is going well enough." Raynare replied, striding over and taking a seat across from Lelouch.

"So, Issei and the others haven't been too harsh on you?" Lelouch asked.

Raynare shrugged her shoulders, "Well, they haven't been exactly the friendliest, but I don't really mind. I'll have most of the students under my thumb soon enough anyways."

As he heard her confident words, Lelouch smiled and chuckled deeply in a sinister way that unnerved Raynare.

"You sound rather confident in your abilities then." Lelouch remarked.

Raynare's face flashed anger, "Well, shouldn't I? I was the only one of my friends who survived back at that church, so I should have some right to be proud, right?"

"You sound like you are angry." Lelouch replied calmly, trying his hand at diffusing the situation.

"I think I have a right! All of my friends are dead!" Raynare yelled in a rage.

Even in the face of the anger of a Fallen Angel, Lelouch's face did not change in the slightest, "Yet you are alive. Have you ever considered that you might be dead as well, if not for me?"

"Well? Why did you save me?" Raynare asked, regaining herself and trying to cool her anger.

"I thought that you would be interesting, and so far, you have proven to be just that." Lelouch replied with a certain tone of detachment.

"That's it? I'm just some toy to you?" Raynare asked, feeling the anger rise up in her again. Hearing those words, it made her furious to know that he was treating her as if she were nothing.

"Yes, do you have a problem with that?" Lelouch replied coldly in a tone that made Raynare's blood freeze in her veins. She was still angry at him, yet also, she was scared by just the sheer force of his personality, despite his rather harmless appearance. In fact, she might venture to say that he was rather attractive, but still, that was the farthest thing from her mind. Or, at least, that's what she kept telling herself.

A hint of doubt nagged at her. He had said that he didn't care about her at all, but in that moment back in the church, he had stood up for her with fire in his eyes, something that told her that he wasn't letting on just how much he cared. And at that thought, she swooned slightly. Lelouch was incredibly handsome, she would admit it, and the thought that maybe he was embarrassed to let her know his true feelings made her inwardly squeal in delight.

"You're lying, aren't you?" Raynare replied slyly, and Lelouch looked at her like she was crazy.

"What are you talking about?"

"You saved my life. People don't just do that for entertainment." Raynare stated firmly, and Lelouch looked away, as if he were embarrassed.

"Are you trying to insinuate something?" He stammered, getting more flustered by the second.

"No, not at all." Raynare replied with a satisfied smirk on her face. She really did have a talent for manipulating people, and now, it seemed that she had coaxed the truth, or at least a sliver of it from Lelouch. To be honest, she had always wished to have a knight in shining armor, and frankly, Lelouch fit the bill, right down to the part where he had saved her life.

Maybe he wasn't the exact vision of a knight, but to Raynare, he didn't need to be.

Meanwhile, Lelouch noticed the dreamy look plastered all over Raynare's face, and broke out in a smirk of his own. She had fell for his performance, hook, line, and sinker. No, he didn't really have feelings for her, although she was attractive, but that was to be expected from a Fallen Angel. What he was really interested in was the potential that having a Fallen Angel could bring to a revived Geass Order. To think that he could have access to a virtual database of Fallen Angel information made him very intrigued in Raynare, so he supposed that he was lying a little bit when he had said that he had saved her just to use her as some sort of entertainment. But just a little bit.

* * *

Out of the corner of his eye, Lelouch stared at Shirley as she directed him through a set of pushups, yelling at him to go faster. Was she really from his world? It seemed as if she was so at home here, that it was impossible for her to have been born somewhere else. But Jeremiah had told him otherwise, and, despite his misgivings about him, he was still inclined to trust Jeremiah for the most part.

If Jeremiah was telling the truth, then he wasn't sure that he could continue acting the same way around her. After all, in his memory, it seemed clear to him that they were friends, or maybe, something more. With that knowledge, could he ever act the same way around her again?

"Now then. We can attend to some more of your training." Shirley said as Lelouch finished out the set of pushups, rubbing his sore arms.

Sighing, Lelouch got to his feet, ready for one of their usual drills, which consisted of sparring with Shirley, which usually entailed him getting the stuffing beat out of him until she called it a day.

"Now, come at me with all you've got." Shirley ordered, getting into a defensive stance.

Shrugging his shoulders, Lelouch approached her cautiously, having learned from past experience that charging straight in was ineffective and usually resulted in a complete beat down from Shirley. Almost tentatively, he punched forward with his left hand, which was quickly parried by Shirley.

And so it was on. Immediately following that, hoping to take advantage of her distraction with his left hand, Lelouch kicked forward with his right, and then thrust his elbow forward when his leg was blocked as well. Shirley quickly grabbed his right elbow and with exceptional strength, pushed him to the floor.

"Come on. In battle, you have to keep coming and attack again and again. No matter how many times you are knocked to the ground, you'll have to attack again." Shirley instructed, and immediately, Lelouch was reminded of some of Shirley's words from his memory.

"_No matter how many times I'm reborn, I'm sure I'll fall in love with you again."_

"What are you doing? Get back up!" Shirley snapped, and immediately, Lelouch's image of her smiling face as the blood pooled around her was shattered, and replaced with the snarling woman in front of him.

Quickly scrambling to his feet, Lelouch repeated his actions, marveling at how Shirley seemed so different in this world. She was not the sweet girl that had been dying in front of him in his memories, that was for sure.

As he felt himself being lifted into the air and being thrown to the ground once more, Lelouch groaned in pain and clutched his sides, causing Shirley to sigh in annoyance.

"All right, that's enough for now." She said, sitting down where she had been standing, breathing harder than Lelouch had ever seen her. The truth was, although she had still managed to throw him to the ground, Shirley knew that Lelouch was improving, and it was getting harder and harder to stop him as time went on. He really was everything that she had expected from the bearer of Kohryu.

"Say Shirley, do you ever think about your childhood?" Lelouch asked as the pain in his sides subsided.

"Why do you ask that?" Shirley retorted, confused by the sudden question.

Lelouch looked at the fountain, following the path of the water as it sprayed out and landed in the pool of water underneath, "Just curious, since I'm only just regaining my memory, it really means a lot to me. I was just wondering how much you value it."

Shirley shook her head, "No, not usually. My memory's actually kind of fuzzy, but I can still remember starting out my training with my father."

"Really? So, what kind of man is your father?" Lelouch asked, and immediately, Shirley's eyes glazed over as she began reminiscing.

"He's a wonderful man. Everyone respected him because he was a member of the Council, which means that he made most of the decisions for the Geass Order. I just remember him being the wisest person I ever knew. For every situation, he always knew what to do. And he was selfless. He never thought of himself, just of what was for the good of the Order." Lelouch nodded along as he listened to Shirley, interested by her devotion to a man who was not her father at all, although she had no way of knowing that fact.

"Even when the Fallen Angels attacked, he thought for the good of the Order and sent me and Jeremiah to find you." Shirley continued.

As she said that, Lelouch could see her face fall, "And that's why I'm so hard on you. I know that I act mean and all, but I don't have a choice. I promised my father that I would find you and bring you back as our savior. You know, he believed in you more than I ever did, so you can't let us down. If you do, I don't know what's going to happen to him."

Shirley trailed off and stared down at her lap, and instantly, Lelouch could see the truth in Jeremiah's words. She really was worried about that man, Seiryu, and it was clear that adding to her distress would only confuse her more.

"Don't worry, I won't disappoint you, I promise." Lelouch reassured, placing his hand on top of hers. Instinctively, Shirley snapped her hand back, confused by his actions.

"What are you doing?" She stammered, blushing furiously.

"It looked like you needed someone to hold your hand." Lelouch replied frankly.

"Well. Thank you, I suppose." Shirley replied, refusing to meet Lelouch's gaze.

"I think that we've trained enough for today." Shirley added, standing up suddenly and walking away, leaving Lelouch to stare at her retreating figure.

"_No matter how many times I'm reborn, I'm sure I'll fall in love with you again."_

The words came to Lelouch's head again, and he sighed in disappointment. Maybe he had pushed her away with that move. After all, it hadn't really been prompted by anything. But he was curious. Curious to see exactly what would happen if she regained her memories, and if that would be the key to unlocking his own. Despite what Jeremiah had told him, he was more than ready to face whatever memories he had locked away in his head, he was certain.

And to get to those memories, he had to learn from Shirley. She would have to be the test subject, once again.

* * *

It was a normal day after school for the Occult Research Club. Lelouch was lazily reclining on one of the couches, enjoying a book that Rias had lent him on Devil society and the Underworld in general. Next to him, Koneko enjoyed a cake, taking slight glances at Lelouch, who she didn't fully trust yet.

Across from them sat Asia, who Lelouch had gotten to know as a nice enough girl who was far too innocent, in his opinion at least, to be involved with Issei, who was busy ogling Rias while she was enjoying a cup of tea with Akeno, who had been unusually quiet around Lelouch lately. In her usual corner, Shirley sat with a notepad, planning out her next training session with Lelouch, all while stealing glances at him. Ever since their incident a few days ago, she had been on high alert near him.

"Master Lelouch, my contacts in the Underworld have informed me of a new development." Jeremiah stated as he opened the door of the Occult Research Club, breaking the relative silence.

Putting down his book, Lelouch scrambled to his feet and stood up out of his seat, "What's going on?"

"The Fallen Angels have decided to move Master Genbu to a more secure location, and have decided to make the affair public, to make an example out of us Geass users." Jeremiah replied.

"Are you suggesting that we use this chance?" Shirley asked, to which Jeremiah nodded.

"Am I prepared for such a task?" Lelouch asked, more confident in his abilities lately, but a bit of doubt still nagging at him.

"No." Jeremiah stated candidly, "But this is the best chance we will ever get to try and free him, so we have no choice but to attempt a rescue."

"So, this is essentially a suicide mission?" Rias asked, to which Jeremiah shook his head.

"No, I truly believe we can succeed. But the rescue will test all of Lelouch's abilities, and it will push him to his mastery of Geass to its very limits. If he is up to the task, which I believe that he is, we will succeed, I guarantee it."

"So, what exactly is your plan? We cannot just charge straight in, can we?" Rias asked.

Jeremiah merely looked to Lelouch with a smile on his face, "I have something planned."

* * *

The weather was typical, for a day in the fall anyways. The wind was howling across the face of the water, creating choppy waves that rammed up against the thick and powerful wooden pillars that held the docks in place. The sky was dreary and gray, as it usually was, with thick fog caking the small seaside town and enveloping in an embrace of moisture and grayness.

Lelouch scratched at the irritating clothes that he was currently wearing as he silently followed behind Jeremiah, who was not at all bothered by his dress. They were both dressed in heavy brown coats that were large enough so that they could have contained anything, including wings, which was the effect that Jeremiah had been aiming for.

He looked around at the town that the prison escort was scheduled to pass through. Judging by the relative lifelessness of the buildings around him, he understood why Jeremiah chose this town in particular. In this town, there would be significantly less Fallen Angels to contend with, which would make the difference between success and failure.

Beyond that, Jeremiah had informed him that this town was essentially a microcosm for the cities of the Fallen Angels in general. The architecture of the buildings was a twisted version of the Baroque architecture of the Angels, which he had glimpsed in photos that Rias had provided. The planning of the town itself was haphazard, with seemingly no direction or reason, much like the unstable mentality of most Fallen Angels.

It was all intriguing and fearsome at the same time.

"Take care, Master Lelouch. We are approaching the caravan. Just because this town is smaller, it does not mean that our operation has become any easier. If our timing is off by even a second, we will run into significant trouble." Jeremiah stated as they began approaching a mass of figures in the center of the town.

It was apparent now that all of the town's inhabitants were gathered in the center of the town to witness the passing of the escort, and not in their homes as Lelouch had just assumed. The center was a circular stone road that ran around a large fountain depicting the fall of Lucifer in stone, which must have been seen as a great event by the Fallen Angels.

They began encroaching themselves in the crowd, shoving aside several annoyed Fallen Angels, who gave them dirty glares, but did not act beyond that. He looked around them to see that the crowd was rowdy and spirited for such an occasion, and he felt sick to his stomach as he heard some of the chants that started in the crowd, calling for the heads of Geass users.

It was jarring to know exactly how hated their order was. Sure, Jeremiah had warned him that they would not be exactly welcome, but he never expected…this.

As they somehow pushed their way to the front of the crowd, Lelouch breathed a sigh of relief, amazed by the fact that they were not engaged in some sort of brawl at the moment.

"I can see Rias and the others." Jeremiah informed Lelouch, who peered over to the other side of the crowd to see a group dressed similarly, but sticking out due to Rias' crimson hair, as well as Shirley's bright orange hair, which contrasted heavily with most other Fallen Angels. However, Raynare, who was still a Fallen Angel herself, was fitting in without any problem.

"The caravan is arriving now." Jeremiah stated, turning Lelouch's body so that he could see the large procession in front of them.

At least twenty pitch black horses were struggling along, trying to pull along a large wooden platform that held numerous guards, all surrounding one elevated figure. The figure was an old looking man with pure white hair that was dressed in tattered purple robes of the Order, and attached to a large wooden cross. He possessed a slender face that seemed to have been caused by malnutrition, and his body seemed incredibly frail for someone of his status.

"Master Lelouch, are you ready?" Jeremiah asked Lelouch, who nodded without hesitation.

"I can do this." He whispered to himself before he tore off his coat, revealing his attire underneath to be those same robes of the Geass Order. He had heavy purple fabric that covered every inch of his body save for his face, and in this fabric was woven several large ebony plates of armor, namely in his chest, legs, and arms, leaving most of his joints unhindered. He wore a large purple cape that flapped violently in the wind as he began dashing at the horses, not fazed by their ominous whines.

As they noticed Lelouch, the crowd of Fallen Angels rose up in a chorus of boos and jeers, but Lelouch paid them no heed.

Instead, he lifted up his hands one at a time, and as he did so, pillars of ice the size of trees began rising up out of the ground at his command. As they began rising with more and more frequency, the guards on board the platform quickly noticed and flew in to engage Lelouch, wings flapping vigorously as they all tried to dive in straight at him.

With a grunt, Lelouch barrel rolled out of the attacks of the guards, who each missed and hit the ground in a mess of wings and limbs while Lelouch continued on his way, raising up more and more pillars of ice from the ground, until they were as thick as a forest.

Making one final attempt to stop him, a Fallen Angel scrambled to his feet and dove straight at Lelouch.

In response, Lelouch ignited his left foot and brought it down hard at the Fallen Angel, expecting to crush the man's foot in flame, but found himself a split second too slow and instead, mashed the ground. From behind him, he felt a fist strike the back of his head, knocking him to the ground.

Just before his figure could reach the hard stone of the road, Lelouch fired off a gust of wind, stopping his face mere inches above the ground. Firing with even more force, he managed to launch himself backwards into the air, rising above the Fallen Angel who looked up at him in amazement.

Reaching the peak of his flip, Lelouch stuck his hands out in front of him and fired off a powerful blast of electricity that struck the Fallen Angel right in the wings, causing it to howl out in pain and leaving in open for one more attack by Lelouch.

Steadying his body in the air so that it created a rigid structure, he focused deeply and encased his body in fire before firing himself at the exposed enemy with a strong jet stream, his entire body acting as the projectile. As he met the back of his assailant, he saw his enemy's wings ignite and burn up within seconds from the intensity of his attack before he ceased the attack, firing a gust of wind to back away and landed on his feet. With a howl of pain, the Fallen Angel crumpled to the ground, dead.

Turning his attention to the other guard, Lelouch turned around to see a spear of light coming right at his face. Instinctively, he formed a large blade of ice that surrounded his right arm and lifted it up in front of his face, knocking the spear off course and into the crowd.

From across him, the Fallen Angel guard readied another spear, and with a yell, charged straight ahead at Lelouch, who stood his ground without fear or flinching. As the guard brought his spear forward in an attempt to slash at Lelouch's shoulder, Lelouch quickly reacted, meeting the spear of light with his blade of ice, which was powerful enough to ward off attacks of light.

As they crossed blades, both began pressing into their blades, trying to overpower the other. However, finding their strength equal, Lelouch attempted to turn the tide by leading their blades around in a large circle, before aggressively stabbing forward. The guard hopped back in time to avoid the sheet of ice, but not in time to avoid the gust of wind that had accompanied Lelouch's thrust.

The Fallen Angel grunted as he was launched backwards into a pillar of ice, crashing into the structure with a heavy thud. Just as he shook his head to regain his senses, Lelouch was upon him like a deadly whirlwind, slashing every which way with incredible force and control, just looking to break his defense. However, the guard was just swift enough to block all of Lelouch's attack, causing the Geass user to grit his teeth in frustration and dart backwards, looking for a new opening.

Lelouch melted away his blade, finding it ineffective, and instead, opted to engulf his arms and hands in flame, attempting to change the playing field. With a series of powerful, yet controlled moves that mimicked the movement of some sort of snake or dragon, Lelouch built up momentum and stamped his foot down, thrusting his hands out in front of him and culminating in a powerful surge of purple flame.

Unprepared for the sudden shift in style, the guard was helpless to do anything as the hottest flame he had ever experienced licked his skin and singed his wings. Howling in pain, the Fallen Angel staggered around, just trying to hang on to life before he collapsed to the ground, a heap of ashes within seconds.

As she snapped the neck of a hapless guard on the wooden platform on which Master Genbu was being held, Shirley saw Lelouch's fight with the two guards and couldn't help but smile proudly as he demonstrated all of the techniques he had developed thus far. He really was an exceptional fighter, as much as she didn't want to admit it.

From his vantage point in the crowd, Jeremiah could see Lelouch as well, as the ice acted as a mirror of sorts, reflecting his figure for all to see. Jeremiah could tell that the crowd was experiencing the same and felt his confidence rise. All was going according to plan.

Lelouch reached up to his left eye as it closed, smiling as he did so.

"Now then," He began, "I command all of you to stand down!"

As he yelled out his command, he removed his hand, and his left eye snapped open, revealing the red bird like Geass sigil that was in his violet iris. Instantly, as he spoke his words, the entire crowd, along with the remaining guards, fell to their knees, powerless to do anything but to obey his command.

Jeremiah smiled with pride as he saw the Fallen Angels beside him uncontrollably collapse, red rimming in their eyes.

"Master Lelouch, you've pushed your Geass far past its limit and succeeded. For someone with as little training as you to accomplish such a task, you truly are exceptional." He whispered to himself before weaving his way past the pillars of ice in an attempt to reach the wooden platform.

Lelouch collapsed to his knees as well, having pushed his Geass to its absolute limits by using it on so many targets at once. As he did so, he suddenly felt a sensation in his right eye, almost as if something was forcefully invading it. In a panic, he began clutching at his eye, trying to alleviate the burning, but finding no way to do so. Just as the pain began to reach a peak, it stopped, and a comfortable numbness came over the eye as Lelouch fell to his back in exhaustion.

"Master Lelouch! Are you okay?" Jeremiah shouted as he noticed the collapsed man.

"Jeremiah, what has happened to me? My right eye!" Lelouch cried out, pointing to his right eye, which now bore the Geass sigil as well, in all of its red pride.

"Your Geass has spread, it seems. Pushing it to its limits by trying to affect so many people at once must have caused it to spread to your right eye as well in an effort to maintain the command." Jeremiah informed him as he helped him to his feet.

"Now come on, I'll get us out of here. Shirley is leading the others to rescue Master Genbu as we speak." Jeremiah reassured, propping up Lelouch and summoning a magic circle.

* * *

Lelouch stared at the old man in interest as he lay unconscious on the couch. His head was full of long while hair that reached down to his shoulder, accompanied by a large white beard that did not stop until it reached his chest. Lelouch couldn't help but think that the man did really resemble a tortoise, with skin hanging loosely and shorter limbs that seemed outlandishly mismatched with his longer neck. He didn't seem to look the part of a master harboring the spirit of a powerful being, but then again, he supposed that appearances were deceiving.

The man stirred for a second and his eyes blinked open once, then twice. Soon enough, he was sitting up and burying his face in his hands, trying to get a bearing on his surroundings.

Then, his eyes fell upon Lelouch, and they went wide with surprise.

"Is it you? Master Lelouch?" He asked tentatively, and Lelouch replied with a nod.

"Oh, it is such an honor to meet you. I am Master Genbu." The man said excitedly standing up from his seat and bowing deeply.

"Same for me." Lelouch replied, responding with a bow of his own.

"Master Genbu, I trust that you are feeling better now?" Jeremiah interjected.

"Ah, Lord Gottwald. Yes, of course. Now that I'm out of the clutches of those damned Fallen Angels, I do feel much better." Genbu said spryly.

"Master Genbu, did you hear anything of my father?" Shirley asked from her spot beside Jeremiah.

"Unfortunately, I haven't gotten much word on him. They kept us separated for most of my captivity, so I don't really have more information than the next person. But don't worry about him. Seiryu always was a tough one. They won't break him as easily as you might think." Genbu reassured, patting Shirley on the back.

"So Master. Now that you are free, what do you plan on doing?" Jeremiah asked.

"Whatever you will have me do. I assume that the Order has fallen?" Genbu replied.

Jeremiah nodded, "Unfortunately, yes. We are all that is left right now."

"Master Genbu, if you are willing, I would like to receive tutelage from you." Lelouch interrupted.

Genbu looked at Lelouch for a minute before nodding, "Of course. Anything for the bearer of Kohryu."

Clapping his hands together, the old man smiled, "Now then, should we get started?"

* * *

**I realized too late after I wrote this chapter that there were some inconsistencies with my story and the canon, in which Twilight Healing was never removed from Raynare's body, and so, Asia technically never had a chance to regain it. However, just so no one thinks that I ignored it, I acknowledge that it was a mistake on my part, so let's just assume that Raynare never had sufficient time to remove Twilight Healing from Asia's corpse.**

**Also, judging from the reviews I've received so far, I believe that I will be writing a story with a harem ending. Since that is the case, I would like to know, are there any characters that you would like to see Lelouch specifically add to his harem? So far, I have not even touched on the story line of the Excaliburs, and to be honest, I don't know if I ever will, as I kind of want to avoid following the light novels too closely, and instead, write an original story. **

**However, if I am to add characters like Irina, I guess that I would have to at least have Lelouch be somewhat involved in that story line. So, as always, I turn to you guys, the readers. Who would you like to see added to Lelouch's eventual harem? **

**Please leave any and all thoughts below, either in the form of a review or a PM! I really appreciate every review I get, and it only serves to validate my writing, so I really would like to thank anyone who has reviewed so far, from the bottom of my heart. Also, to those who have not been reviewing, thank you for reading this story! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to anyone who reviewed this week, I really appreciate it! I really do love scrolling down and reading through the reviews I get, so you guys are awesome! I've been busy these past two weeks, but writing this story has gotten me through that, so thank you guys for giving me a reason to keep writing! Without further ado, the continuation of Of Queens and Emperors.**

* * *

Chapter 8

Shirley awoke with a start, breathing heavily and forehead drenched in sweat. Her orange hair stuck tightly to her face in some places and frizzled wildly in others. Unconsciously, she grazed a finger past her tingling lips, memory still fresh in her mind.

"What's happening with me?" She whispered. Her heart was threatening to burst out of her chest, pounding away like a drum, and her mind was reeling from confusion.

She could still feel it. All of it. The pain of knowing her father had died, stabbing at her like a knife. Raindrops, pouring down on her, even as tears streamed down from her face. And then…relief. It had washed over her in waves as she laid her eyes upon him, her savior from the cruel world she had been subjected to. In that moment, he was a black knight that represented her one escape from the cruelty of the world.

And then, it was a mess of hot tears and accusations, none of which he deserved. And then, his lips were on hers, as she clawed at him hungrily and readily. They were melting into each other's embrace, fitted together like two pieces of the same puzzle. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and his were cool and soothing, in that shade of violet that she loved so much and lusted after at times. There were two pairs of eyes, closed in ecstasy as they held each other in the pouring rain, euphoric and miserable at the same time. She could have gotten whiplash from all of the emotions that had invaded her mind.

But it wasn't real. It couldn't have been. Sure, it was vivid, but dreams always were, right? If it was a dream however, it begged the question. Why was she thinking about Lelouch that way? There was no way that she was interested in him, at least, not in that way. He was handsome, sure, but she wasn't the kind of girl to fall for someone based on their looks, at least, she thought she wasn't.

"_Please Lulu…help me." _

In frustration, she pulled at her hair. Her father was out there in the Underworld somewhere, probably being tortured as she spoke, and here she was, selfishly fantasizing about some boy. To say that she was disappointed in herself was an understatement.

Glancing over at her alarm clock, Shirley saw that it was already three in the morning. Giving a tired sigh, she allowed her body to collapse backwards, the bed creaking slightly as she did so. Staring up at the ceiling, she tried to put those deep purple eyes out of her mind, to no avail. They had been haunting her incessantly, ever since that time his hand had held hers in the park, as much as she had tried to fight against the thought of them.

Giving a cry of desperation, Shirley rolled onto her right side, burying the side of her head into her pillow.

"Who exactly are you, Lelouch?"

And then, softly, Shirley whispered to herself, "Who exactly am I?"

* * *

Sona tapped her foot impatiently, finding herself anxious for the first time in a long time. Fretfully, she smoothed out her skirt, having opted to stay in her school uniform this time, as they were meeting after school. However, she knew that Lelouch had training and the like, so they had planned to meet at the front of the school after he had finished a training session with one of the members of his Order. It was an older man, named Master Genbu.

"Kaichou, I have to go home now. I'll see you tomorrow?" Genshirou Saji, her faithful pawn asked hopefully. He was a handsome blonde haired boy who was unknowingly the object of affection for several girls, including several of her servants, and he was completely oblivious to the fact. However, Sona had to admit that she had no eyes for him. He was an attractive male, but paled when compared to Lelouch, at least in her opinion.

In response, Sona nodded and smiled at the brown haired boy, "Of course. See you tomorrow Saji."

Obediently, Saji nodded and walked out the gate, waving at Sona as he did so. Not lost on her was the slight expression of disappointment that crossed his face once he thought that he was out of sight.

She sighed. He had made it perfectly clear that he was in love with her, but unfortunately, she had to spurn his advances several times. The truth was, he was her servant, and, although she did like to pamper him, he wasn't and likely would never be anything more than that. Thankfully, he didn't actively try and interfere with her and Lelouch, but she could tie that he clearly disliked the Geass user.

"Sona!" Suddenly, she heard the voice she had been waiting for, and immediately, her face lit up in joy, all anxiety forgotten.

"Lelouch. Nice to see you." Sona chirped happily as her boyfriend arrived at the gate, looking slightly disheveled. He was still wearing his uniform, although he had taken off his necktie and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt, exposing just enough of his chest for Sona to blush in embarrassment as she saw him. He really was getting stronger every day, and the results were showing, from what she could see.

"Sorry I'm a little late." Lelouch said apologetically, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"No problem. I had some work to finish at Student Council anyways." Sona replied, holding her hands up to let him know that it was okay. Truth be told, she had actually been waiting at the gate for a good ten minutes with Saji, but seeing Lelouch made the wait well worth it.

"So, shall we be on our way?" Lelouch asked, offering out his arm, which Sona gratefully took and wrapped herself around. As she did, she felt his muscles bulge slightly and sighed blissfully. She wasn't a normal teenage girl by any means, but even she had to approve of an exceptional physique.

* * *

"So, Lelouch. Rias told me that you went to the Underworld to break a prisoner free from the Fallen Angels?" Sona asked as they sat down in a café, gratefully accepting two menus from the waitress, who wisely made the decision to remain professional, unlike some other waitresses who received a thorough dousing in water, courtesy of a jealous Sona.

"Yes, it was Master Genbu, one of the Geass Order's code bearers." Lelouch replied, scanning the menu but ultimately deciding on a coffee.

"So then, I assume that you're planning to rebuild that order of yours?" Sona asked, to which Lelouch nodded.

"I suppose so. It is my destiny and all." He chuckled.

"Does it really mean anything to you at all?" Sona asked with an expression that bordered on frustrated.

Lelouch looked at her, confused, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you even know why you want to do this?" Sona replied, interested to know the answer.

Lelouch looked to be deep in thought as he sat back and placed a hand on his chin.

"I don't really know exactly why I want to do this, but I know I want to, and that's what is important to me. It doesn't matter to me why I want to do it, but that I want to do it."

"Then what's preventing you from just giving up on it all and just living a normal life?" Sona asked.

"Well, too many people are counting on me for me to do that. I can't just let them all down." Lelouch replied.

"Interesting." Sona whispered to herself.

"Well then, Sona, since you asked me, let me return the favor. What exactly do you plan to do?" Lelouch asked, switching gears.

As he asked that, he could sense an uneasiness come over Sona. Instantly regretting his words, Lelouch opened his mouth to apologize, but to his surprise, Sona answered before he could speak.

"My plan is to build a school for Rating Games." Lelouch nodded in understanding. Rias had informed him about Rating Games, which were competitions between Devils that utilized their servants. He had been interested to learn about them initially, as they were, at least in his eyes, merely dynamic games of chess, which intrigued him greatly.

However, being just a human and not a High Class Devil, he had no right to participate in one past the role of advisor. Obviously, he could tell that Sona was likely well versed in Rating Games, given her aptitude for chess. However, to think that her dream was to impart her knowledge, it made him feel oddly proud.

"But not like the ones they currently have. I want to build one for low class and reincarnated Devils, not like the elite schools for High Class Devils only." Sona continued, and Lelouch nodded in approval.

But as she finished talking, her face suddenly fell, and her hands grew limp, causing Lelouch to quickly grasp onto her hands in concern.

"Sona, what's wrong?" He asked.

"This is usually when they start laughing." She replied sadly, showing Lelouch a weakness that he had never seen before from her.

"They are all the same. They always tell me I'm crazy for wanting to do this, and that I'd be wasting my talents. All they believe is that Rating Games should be used to promote the strength of the Pure Bloods, and that teaching lower Devils would be a waste of time." She said bitterly.

At this, Lelouch frowned and squeezed her hands tightly, "And they'd be wrong. You're not wrong to think that way. Those who believe otherwise are despicable. I believe that you know what right above everyone else. Isn't that why you're the next head of the Sitri Clan?"

Lelouch's eyes widened for a moment, unsure what had come over him in that moment. Hearing that Sona was looked down on for her ideals suddenly made him incredibly angry, and sent him into an inexplicable rage. It felt as if a memory had suddenly come over him, but nothing of the sort was to be found. Just a sudden distaste for inequality. Was this one of his repressed personality traits, or something else?

He wasn't sure exactly what it was, but one thing he was sure of was that he definitely did not support the current stratified Devil system.

For her part, Sona's eyes widened in surprise as well, although it was for an entirely different reason. She had never heard anyone support her plan, outside of her peerage. But Lelouch had reassured her, with such passion and intensity that she had actually been taken aback.

"Thank you." She whispered appreciatively, looking away so that he would not see the blush on her face. It made her feel incredible to know that someone actually supported her plan, and the fact that it was Lelouch only added to her joy. To tell the truth, she had actually doubted herself and her plan, but after seeing the way that Lelouch had argued for her, it had reaffirmed her conviction.

"No problem. I believe in you, Sona, even if you lose faith in yourself. I've seen your intelligence and skills before, and if anyone can succeed, I know that it's you." Lelouch said, once more adding to the pink dusting Sona's cheeks. He had been the first person outside of her sister to actually approve of her plan. Even her parents had expressed doubt about it at times.

Appreciatively, she leaned over across the table and gave him a quick chaste kiss on his cheek.

As she watched him rub his cheek slowly in confusion, she couldn't help but crack a smile at his expression. In response, he smiled, happy to see Sona smiling once more.

At the sight of Lelouch smiling warmly, Sona could feel her heartbeat increase and her breath quicken. He really was handsome, especially when he was smiling with a little twinkle in his eye.

If she wasn't in love with him before, she was now.

* * *

"Jeremiah, can I ask you something?" Shirley said awkwardly as they walked home side by side. Since they were devoting most of their time to training Lelouch, they had bought an apartment nearby Kuoh Academy, and acted as father and daughter to neighbors, despite the relatively small age difference between them.

"Sure thing." Jeremiah replied, eager to help out the girl.

"What would you say if I told you that I was dreaming about someone?" Shirley asked slowly, trying to keep herself from yelling out the last part in a panic. The words felt foreign as they came out of her mouth, and she did not want to dwell on them any more than she had to.

"First I would ask who the lucky boy was." Jeremiah replied playfully, enjoying the sight of an embarrassed Shirley. For all of the time he had known her, he had never seen her act quite like this before. It was rare for her to show any emotion, having been trained exceptionally well by her father.

Beyond that, he had never known her to be interested in any sort of boys. First off, most of the male members of the Geass Order knew better than to try and ask out the daughter of Master Seiryu, and furthermore, Shirley seemed to be more interested in training than in dating.

So to see her like this was very rare indeed.

"Well, it's not like I really have feelings for him or anything!" Shirley stammered quickly before dropping her head, seemingly in shame.

"Lelouch." She whispered softly.

"What was that?" Jeremiah asked, straining to hear.

Shirley threw up her hands in frustration before raising her voice, "I said Lelouch, all right?"

"Oh, really? And what sort of thoughts were they?" Jeremiah asked slyly.

"Well, it was just a dream, but I thought about us meeting in the rain and…" Shirley trailed off, too embarrassed to continue on.

"And?" Jeremiah prodded.

Groaning, Shirley took a deep breath to calm herself, "Kissing."

At those words, Jeremiah's eyes widened in surprise. What Shirley had just described sounded remarkably similar to what had actually happened between Shirley and Lelouch back in their proper universe. Could it be that her memory was returning?

But why would it suddenly come back now, when it had not surfaced at all in the past year? Someone must have caused this sudden recovery of memory, but who?

As the questions raced through his head, Jeremiah kept a straight face, not wanting give away his thoughts.

"Well then, I would say that you might have a crush on Lelouch. He is a handsome young man, after all." Jeremiah replied suggestively, completely hiding his thoughts. He could not let Shirley know the truth about her past. For now, he would just have to let her suffer over her feelings, now that she thought she liked Lelouch.

It was the best thing to do until he could find out more about the situation.

* * *

Yawning as he returned to the shrine, moon already out, Lelouch leisurely strolled into the gates, eyes closed as he enjoyed the coolness of the night.

He really was making exceptional progress with Sona, which bode well for future dealings with the rest of Devil society. There was a certain advantage to having relations with the heiress of a prominent family after all. Besides that, he felt as if he was really beginning to like Sona in return.

She was beautiful, strong willed, and most of all, intelligent. He found that he really did enjoy their conversations much more than he had originally intended to. Beyond that, the potential benefits that brought with her by being a High Class Devil were incredibly enticing. In short, she seemed to be the perfect girl for him.

Although he admitted that he had been using her, at least initially, his feelings had changed as he spent more and more time with her. He found that he truly did appreciate her company, and that he really enjoyed spending time with her. It had not been a chore to date her, as he had originally expected.

He cracked a smile at the thought. Obviously, he would never lose sight of his goals, but it wouldn't hurt to at least enjoy his work somewhat while he could.

Although, Sona had brought up an interesting point. Why exactly did he feel such a strong need to complete his goals? Nothing was stopping him from just shirking his responsibility and leaving it up to Shirley and Jeremiah to rebuild the Geass Order, so why couldn't he just step away? It was an intriguing question indeed. He had managed to avoid answering it back in the café, but now, it was the only question on his mind.

"Lelouch!" He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by the sight of Raynare, who was dressed in a kimono not unlike the one that Akeno normally wore at the shrine.

"Hello, Raynare." He responded disinterestedly as he walked right past her. In response, Raynare pouted and latched onto his arm.

"Lelouch, I prepared dinner for you tonight. Why don't you come and eat first?" Raynare asked sweetly.

"All right, I suppose I need food." Lelouch replied, allowing Raynare to drag him into the dining room, where Akeno was waiting patiently at the table. However, at the sight of Raynare touching Lelouch, her smile suddenly grew more forced as she resisted the urge to vaporize the Fallen Angel with a lightning strike right then and there.

"Lelouch, why don't you eat first? I have something I need to discuss with Raynare." Akeno said, ushering Lelouch into a seat before grabbing the Fallen Angel by the collar and leading her out of the room.

Akeno released Raynare out in the courtyard of the shrine, leaving the girl gasping for air.

"All right. What do you want with Lelouch?" Akeno asked seriously, abandoning her normal demeanor.

"What does it look like? I'm going to marry him one day and right now, I'm practicing my duties as a future wife to him." Raynare said confidently, causing Akeno to stare at her for a moment before she began giggling.

"What's so funny?" Raynare snapped in reply.

"Nothing. Just that you think you have a chance with him." Akeno managed in between laughs.

"Don't I?" Raynare asked angrily, furious that she was being laughed at.

"Very well, if you want to keep deluding yourself, then why don't you fight me right now? This will decide whether or not you truly have a chance." Akeno taunted.

"Fine. Then I accept." Raynare replied, creating a spear of light.

"Exactly what I was waiting for." Akeno said softly, readying lightning in her hands.

With a cry, Raynare forcefully flapped her wings, instantly propelling herself forward and into Akeno, who stood her ground without any fear. She quickly stabbed the spear of light forward, only to find it met by a bolt of lightning.

With a scream of frustration, Raynare hopped backwards, giving Akeno the opening she wanted. With no hesitation, she closed her eyes and muttered an incantation. As she did so, storm clouds quickly assembled in the sky above them, and, without warning, a lightning bolt cleaved open the sky, striking down with unparalleled speed and intensity at Raynare.

With a grunt of effort, Raynare dove forward, just as the electricity shattered the ground behind her. In response, Raynare reached her arm back and flung a spear of light from her prone position. As Akeno put up a small barrier to block the attack, Raynare took the opportunity to scramble to her feet.

Creating two spears of light, Raynare switched her tactics, deciding to stay on the defensive while Akeno struck at her with smaller lightning bolts. As each approached her, Raynare utilized her weapons to knock the electricity aside, resulting in several small explosions of bright light as the lightning and light met.

Akeno began panting a bit as she flung strike after strike at Raynare, to no avail. She was getting tired, and she knew that she would have to end the fight quickly for any chance of victory.

Meanwhile, Raynare was getting tired as well, having expended most of her energy trying to block Akeno's attacks.

"Time to end this." Akeno whispered to herself, stopping her smaller attacks and instead opting to charge up for a larger strike.

Sensing and opportunity, Raynare charged forward with all of her force, not to be stopped by anything as she hurtled towards Akeno at a dizzying pace. Just as she stabbed forward with her spear, Akeno placed a hand in front of her, releasing a ball of electricity that flew straight at the light of Raynare's spear. As the two attacks collided, there was an explosion of golden sparks and immediately, Akeno and Raynare were both flung backwards violently by the sheer force of their attacks.

"I've got to keep going." Raynare muttered as she tried to stand back up, but she suddenly found her body giving out on her, and instead, collapsed back to the floor. However, as she did so, she spotted Akeno on the other side of the courtyard, struggling to do the same, and failing as well.

"What's going on out here?" Lelouch asked as he ran out the door of the dining room to find Akeno and Raynare both lying on the ground, breathing heavily.

Although on the surface, he was distraught over the situation, in reality, he was smiling underneath. He had hoped that at some point Akeno and Raynare would fall for him as well and clash, but he had not expected it to happen so soon. Seeing such a sight did wonders to raise his spirits, which were already high from his progress with Sona.

* * *

Shirley lay in her bed, staring up at her ceiling as she tried in vain to get some sleep.

"A crush." She whispered to herself, not quite believing the words that came out of her own mouth. After all, it seemed ridiculous to think that she actually had a crush on someone, much less Lelouch. There was just no way!

He was lazy, arrogant, weak, handsome, alluring, mysterious... Shirley shook her head vigorously, trying to get rid of the crazy thoughts plaguing her mind. But somehow, it seemed natural to think of him in that way, as if she had always thought of him that way, which was crazy because, as far as Shriley knew, she had never had any feelings for him.

But ever since that time in the park when he had put his hand on top of hers, she couldn't stop thinking about him. She could still feel every contour and detail of his hand as it had grazed by hers slightly for the slightest of moments, but to her, it had felt like an eternity.

Shirley sighed. She really was going crazy.

* * *

"That's good Lelouch. You're really coming along." Genbu said approvingly as they both reclined on the couch of the Occult Research Club, where they normally practiced. Both of them were utterly exhausted, and merely collapsed into two sweaty heaps on the couch. Contrary his appearance, Genbu was actually quite fit and held his own against Lelouch during their training session at a level that surpassed even Shirley and Rias.

"Thank you, Master Genbu." Lelouch said gratefully. It felt good to have vindication for all of his hard work, even if he could already feel the tangible effects.

"In fact, I don't know if there's much else I can actually teach you. My doctrine is quite complicated, but you seemed to have picked it up without much problem at all." Genbu replied sheepishly. Honestly, he was expecting to impart his knowledge to Lelouch slowly over a long period of time, but Lelouch had already learned everything there was to learn from him within a month. It really was spectacular.

Lelouch raised an eyebrow at this, "Really? Then I would like to ask you one more favor."

"And what would that be?" Genbu asked interestedly.

"I would like you to form a contract with Raynare and allow her to receive your tutelage." Lelouch replied.

"The Fallen Angel? You want to induct her into our order?" Genbu asked, to which Lelouch nodded.

Looking at the younger man in confusion, Genbu scratched his head, "Why did you wait until now to ask me? We could have started her training much earlier if you had just informed me of this."

Lelouch shook his head, "No, I had to make sure that her loyalty would be to us. We have no use for traitors."

"And you know for sure that she is loyal?" Genbu asked, understanding Lelouch's caution. After what had happened to the former Geass Order, it made sense that he would want to be selective in choosing its members.

"Yes, I can. I suppose I could have used my Geass to fully guarantee it, but I would rather not waste my one command on that." Lelouch replied.

Genbu shrugged his shoulders, "Well, if you are confident in it, I don't see why not."

* * *

Lelouch reclined back into his booth, and stared out the window as he tried to sort out his thoughts. Outside, it was wintertime, and already several months had passed since he had been transported to this world. He smiled at the thought. So much had changed since he had arrived.

He had discovered the existence of Devils, Fallen Angels, and Angels, and their great conflict. Not to mention, he found out that he was the host of a dragon, and that he was also fated to become the leader of the Geass Order. More importantly, he had rediscovered most of his mannerisms, personality traits, and other aspects to himself lost to mental blocks, although Jeremiah had made it clear that he would not remove the final block, containing the full extent of his memories, until much later. But even in that field, he was already making significant progress by experimenting on Shirley.

As far as his Geass Order was concerned, he was less than satisfied with his progress so far, but it couldn't be helped. So far, the only person that he had made any sort of progress in initiating into the Order was Raynare, who was currently on the route to being trained by Master Genbu, once she formed a contract with him.

From what he had learned, the other Masters were being held in various locations in the Underworld, none of which would be easy to infiltrate. So for now, he was stuck until he could muster up a force large enough to stage an attack or his skills developed enough for him to hold his own under the overwhelming conditions.

He felt movement next to him, and glanced over to see that Sona had adjusted her position under his right arm, and had moved closer into his body, snuggling up against his now more muscular and toned chest, thanks to frequent training with Shirley.

Sona definitely had been very valuable to him. He had told Jeremiah that he casted a Geass for her to fall in love with him, which was true for the most part. Really, what he had told her was to "do anything for me, even if it means betraying your family." Once he had learned that her sister was one of the Satans, the decision had been instantaneous for Lelouch. First, he was going to see if Geass could affect Devils, which he learned it could, and second, he was going to gain a valuable ally in the face of the Satans if he ever decided to cross the Devils.

The falling in love was inevitable already, as far as he could tell from the way that Sona seemed so comfortable in their current embrace, but the kind of loyalty that would transgress familial ties was something only Geass could guarantee.

With his one free hand, he picked up his cup of coffee, which he took black, and drank deeply, enjoying the aroma of freshly roasted beans amid the bustle of the coffee shop they were sitting in.

"So, are we going to discuss our plans for the next term?" Lelouch asked the girl sitting across from them, the vice president of the Student Council, Tsubaki Shinra.

As an honorary member of the Student Council, and unofficial advisor to Sona, Lelouch was one of the few people who were allowed to make executive decisions, along with the consent of Tsubaki and Sona of course. As far as the Student Council itself went, Lelouch wasn't terribly interested in most of them, save for the pawn, Genshirou Saji.

The boy had gone off on Lelouch when he first entered Student Council with Sona wrapped around his arm, going on about how he was the only one who was going to impregnate Sona and marry her. Unfortunately, Lelouch was forced to waste his Geass on ordering him to calm down. Since then, Saji didn't really bother him too much, thankfully.

"Well, we still have to plan the graduation ceremony for the end of the school year, and…" Tsubaki leaned in and hushed her voice so that no one else outside of the booth could hear, "Sona, there's still the issue of your marriage. Your parents are getting impatient with you."

"I know." Sona nodded somberly.

"I'm guessing they want some high ranking Devil, isn't that right?" Lelouch said, causing Sona to shake her head.

"But that doesn't mean I'll listen to them. I should still get to choose my husband. And I want it to be you, Devil or not."

Lelouch smiled warmly and kissed her forehead swiftly.

"Thank you Sona. Don't worry about it. I'll figure something out, just trust me." Lelouch said, giving her a reassuring look.

"Well actually, I've already taken care of that." Sona replied, "I've arranged for us to travel to my home during the break so you can meet my family. I'll have to convince them that you are an acceptable husband for me."

Lelouch laughed, "Well, you are always prepared. Very well, I guess I have no choice but to blow them all away."

* * *

**As you guys probably guessed from the ending of this chapter, Lelouch is going to visit the Underworld and meet Sona's parents and Serafall. From what I've read so far, and that isn't much, I don't recall Sona's parents ever really being mentioned, although I assume that they are still alive, as someone other than Serafall has to be running the clan. However, I've been wrong before, so feel free to correct me on that, if anyone knows.**

**From the reviews I got, I've made the decision that I'll follow a bit of the Excalibur story line, although it will likely deviate. And the Khaos Brigade is going to come up as well, if only because I have a weakness for lolis like Ophis.**

**Besides that, I'll give out a warning that my next update might take a little longer than usual. My Playstation Vita showed up in the mail, and I'm probably going to start playing Persona 4 Golden and Dynasty Warriors like crazy for the next few weeks. I don't know, I just really have a weakness for them, so yeah, updating might be a problem, at least until I get them out of my system. But still, I hope you guys continue to read. **

**Also, I've gone without a beta reader for quite a while on my last few stories, but I employed one in Beyond Zero, and I think that it really did improve my writing, so if anyone is interested, please PM me. I would prefer to have one of my readers helping me out, so please, feel free to PM me!**

**Please leave any and all thoughts below, either in the form of a review or a PM! I really appreciate every review I get, so I really would like to thank anyone who has reviewed so far. You guys rock! Also, to those who have not been reviewing, thank you for reading this story! I really do appreciate every review, read, favorite, or PM I get!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for not updating for a while! Like I mentioned last time, I got my Vita in the mail, and I've been playing Persona 4 Golden nonstop. I'm pretty sure I've already put in at least 60 hours so far, so yeah, I haven't had much time to write. I hope this chapter makes up for it, so please enjoy the continuation of Of Queens and Emperors!**

* * *

Chapter 9

Lelouch lazily flipped a page in the book he was currently reading from his sitting position on one of the couches, arching his eyebrows in interest every now and then as he read through more captivating passages. Across from him, Rias read over some books of her own, apparently doing schoolwork from the pencil she held in her right hand. Her eyebrows were scrunched in confusion as she attempted to answer some of the problems laid out in front of her.

"Ara ara, having trouble with your studies?" Akeno giggled as she walked over to their crimson haired president, a tray of tea in her hands. Gently, she lay down the tray on the table with a light clinking of the cups. She handed one to a grateful Rias before scooping up two more in her hands and sitting down beside Lelouch and placing one on the table in front of him.

The entire room was silent except for the occasional rustling of paper, much to Lelouch's relief. It seemed that lately, every day was filled with more and more things for him to do as they approached the end of the second school term. For one thing, there was studying for finals. Obviously, he didn't really have any problem with studying for them, but Issei was apparently under the delusion that they were best friends, and so, he had been roped into tutoring the Devil.

Honestly, he was as inept as they came at school, and just thinking about tutoring him gave Lelouch a headache, as well as a faint hint of nostalgia, as if he had been subjected to the same torture in the past. Mostly, it came in the form of a faint name that was something like Tamachi, or something like that.

Rias and Akeno were responsible enough, choosing to study on their own right now, although Lelouch had no intention of joining them, preferring to instead enjoy the moment of peace he had with most of club out performing various contracts.

Issei, Asia, Kiba, and Koneko were out entertaining their respective clients, while Raynare was busy training with Master Genbu at the moment. She had taken to the idea much more readily than Lelouch had expected her to, likely due to her feud with Akeno, and according to the Geass Code Bearer, she was making great progress towards becoming a valuable agent of the Order.

"Ara ara, it's so late already." Akeno remarked as the clock inside the room chimed, notifying its occupants that it was already six in the afternoon. With a sigh, she gathered up her books and stood up to leave, prompting Lelouch to follow her example as he shut his reading material and stretched out, feeling his muscles loosen up.

"Lelouch, I heard from Sona." Rias said suddenly as he stood up to exit the room.

"Yes, what of it?" He replied, immediately understanding what she was talking about.

Rias stared at him with a serious look in her eyes, "I'm just warning you, be careful. There's a reason why the Sitri Clan is one of the most famous Devil Clans in the Underworld. They are selective with who they choose to accept into their ranks."

"I understand the challenge, and I'm willing to take it." Lelouch replied confidently, walking out of the room.

* * *

However, even though he had said those words, he could not stop thinking about Rias' words. He had never had any fear in confrontation before, so why was it that he was feeling so…nervous, for a lack of a better word? He couldn't describe it, but every time his thoughts wandered towards the inevitable meeting with Sona's parents, he was filled with a feeling of dread, as if something was going to go horribly wrong in the process.

"Lelouch, is everything all right?" Sona asked suddenly, causing Lelouch to jerk his head back in surprise as she snapped him out of his daydream.

"No! Everything's fine." Lelouch replied as he realized that he was drawing stares from his classmates from the commotion he had caused with his outburst. Awkwardly, he swept some of his hair out of his eyes, in an attempt to regain his composure.

"Are you sure? You look like you've been thinking." Sona stated worriedly, "Are you thinking about our visit? I understand if you're having doubts about it."

"No, not at all. I'm just thinking about how I did on the exams this time around." Lelouch replied quickly, although he realized too late that it was rather uncharacteristic for him to say such a thing. After all, it was no secret that he disdained school and could care less about how he did on his exams.

Unfortunately for him, Sona immediately noticed the discrepancy, being the acute Devil she was.

"Lelouch, I don't want you to worry too much about it. My family will accept you once they meet you, I can guarantee it." She said softly, gently grasping his hand in hers.

Lelouch nodded, although he knew that she was making an empty promise. However, with the confidence that she had said it with, Lelouch had no choice but to feel at least a little bit relieved.

* * *

"So, how is she coming along?" Lelouch asked Genbu as they watched Raynare train with Shirley.

"She's making good progress, and I'm hoping that she will be ready to become one of us within a few months, as long as she keeps up the same pace." Genbu replied.

Lelouch smiled at the good news and at the fact that he could see Sona arriving. They had arranged to meet in front of the school after class so that they could travel to the Underworld together.

"Then I expect a full status report once I return." Lelouch added, waving to his girlfriend.

"Now then, Master Lelouch, I wish you well on your journey." Genbu stated for a second before he grasped Lelouch's hand tightly. As he did, Lelouch suddenly felt a sudden release of pressure in the area, but before he could question the man any further, Sona grabbed him by the hand and dragged him away.

"We'll have to travel to the gates of my home in the Underworld first. My family lives in an estate that keeps people from using magic circles inside." Sona explained as she summoned said circle, immersing her and Lelouch in a bright red light.

* * *

As the light died down, Lelouch's eyebrows arched in interest as he took his first look at Sona's home. Considering that she was from a wealthy and influential Devil Clan, he really wasn't surprised at what he saw. It was a large mansion that seemed to be constructed in a Baroque style, with a large and ornate mansion at the center of a large plot of land that was fenced in by imposing black iron gates.

However, he was struck by an overwhelming sense of nostalgia, as if he had seen something before. Shaking it off, he followed behind Sona, who was leading him up to the entrance of her estate.

Sona walked up to the large main gate guarded by two imposing gargoyles that seemed to be alarmingly realistic, as if they would come alive at any second and attack. Sona stopped at the bars of metal, which were adorned with a symbol that Lelouch assumed was the Sitri Clan crest, and placed a hand upon the gate, which responded by creaking open at her touch.

As they walked inside, Lelouch couldn't help but marvel a bit at the gardens they were traversing. It was almost as if they had suddenly walked into a forest as Lelouch noted the large trees and various flowers that were growing haphazardly, only limited by the stone path that they were currently striding upon.

"This place is beautiful." Lelouch noted, and Sona nodded with an air of pride.

"Yes, our family has a deep appreciation for nature, and our estate reflects our affinity for the various plants and wildlife of the Underworld." Sona replied as a small dragon whizzed past their faces in the way a small bird would in the Human World, reminding Lelouch of the fact that they were indeed in the Underworld.

He looked off to the right, only to see a small troupe of children playing in the gardens. There was a pink haired girl with blue eyes, along with a younger looking brown haired girl. Both of them were dressed in expensive looking summer dresses and were tugging on the sleeves of a raven haired boy, whose back was turned to Lelouch.

Surprised by the sight, as he was unaware of Sona having younger siblings, he turned to ask her about it, but found that she was already quite a distance away from him, having apparently missed the children. Resisting his urge to investigate, Lelouch turned and ran back up to Sona's side.

"Say, do you have younger siblings?" Lelouch asked, wanting to get some answers for what he had just witnessed.

"No, why do you ask?" Sona replied with a confused look on her face.

"Oh, no reason." Lelouch said weakly, completely shocked by her answer. If those kids weren't related to the Sitri Clan, who exactly were they?

As they approached the ornate front doors of the mansion, Sona placed an arm across Lelouch's chest, bringing him to a halt.

"We'll have to wait until the servants acknowledge us. We cannot enter the house unless it is opened from the inside."

Nodding in understanding, Lelouch stood in place, patiently waiting alongside Sona. He did a quickly check of his wardrobe, which was a jet black suit paired with a white dress shirt and gray vest, along with a tie of the same black as that of his suit. He suddenly saw the doorknob wiggle and the doors slowly creak open.

In the open doorway stood two figures that radiated nobility and strength. The figure on the right was a beautiful woman who could not be older than thirty, based on her appearance. She had ebony hair than ran down to the small of her back, and was dressed in an extremely expensive looking violet dress. To the left stood a confident looking man who, similar to the woman, looked extremely youthful, and had neatly combed black hair paired with a powerful gaze. He was dressed in a black suit paired with a purple dress shirt and black tie, giving off the impression of a no nonsense kind of man.

"Sona, welcome home." The woman said happily, a small smile gracing her face.

"We've missed you!" The man added in a much more energetic voice that did not fit his appearance at all.

"I've missed you as well, Mother, Father." Sona replied, nodding to each in turn.

"Oh, Sona, who's this?" Lady Sitri asked, pointing to Lelouch.

"I am Lelouch. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord and Lady Sitri." Lelouch said grandiosely, taking a deep bow to show his respect for them.

"Nonsense, the pleasure is all ours!" Lord Sitri replied happily, stepping aside to allow Lelouch and Sona to enter the house.

"Please, come in." He said to Lelouch, who nodded gratefully.

"Sona!" A beautiful girl with long black hair in the same shade of ebony as Sona's own hair tied up in ponytails exclaimed as she pounced on Sona playfully as soon as she and Lelouch entered, nearly knocking the girl off of her feet.

"Ah! Please don't do that when I come in the door!" Sona cried out as she found her footing and the girl hopped off of her.

"But I've missed you! You've been busy in the Human World for so long!" The girl replied, pouting as she did so.

"Oh, who's this?" She asked curiously, pointing to Lelouch as she suddenly acknowledged his presence.

"I'm Lelouch." Lelouch replied, waving at the little girl.

"Lelouch, this is my sister, Serafall Leviathan." Sona said as the girl nodded vigorously.

Lelouch blinked his eyes once in disbelief, then twice. However, each time his eyes opened, they were still met with the same serious look from Sona.

He looked at the girl who was supposedly Serafall, who was currently clawing at Sona's arm, much to her sister's annoyance, and shook his head. This was one of the Four Satans? There was just no way that a girl like Sona's sister could possibly one of the most powerful beings in Devil Society, at least, not from what he had seen so far.

"Oh, you think that Sona's lying, don't you?" The girl asked with the anger reminiscent of a child. Before he knew exactly what was happening, she smacked his head with a wand that she had produced out of nowhere.

"Ow!" Lelouch exclaimed, rubbing his head to nurse the bruise that was quickly forming.

"That'll teach you to judge a book by its cover." Serafall added with puffed cheeks that reflected her annoyance.

"Serafall, could you refrain from injuring my boyfriend?" Sona pleaded with a sigh of exasperation.

Serafall's eyes widened at the man currently wincing in pain in front of her, "Boyfriend?"

"Yes?" Lelouch replied in a confused tone, finding that he had no way of predicting how Serafall was going to react to his presence.

"All right, why don't we continue this over dinner?" Lord Sitri interrupted, immediately defusing the situation. He could see Serafall slowly losing her temper and knew that he had to distract her somehow.

Giving Lelouch a glare, Serafall turned and bounded away towards the dining room.

* * *

Dinner started off with an awkward silence only punctuated by Serafall's childish interjections every time more food was brought out by a seemingly inexhaustible supply of servants.

From their initial meeting and further interaction over dinner, Lelouch had begun to understand Sona's family more. Her parents were generally very amicable and seemed to actually have more in common with Serafall than Sona, who was effectively their opposite in almost all facets besides appearance.

Over the clanging of silverware, Lord Sitri cleared his throat, gaining the attention of everyone assembled at the table.

"Well, Lelouch, how was dinner so far?" He asked, hoping to start some sort of conversation.

"It's excellent. I've never had a meal quite this extravagant before, so it's really a treat." Lelouch replied with a charismatic smile on his face, trying to make a good impression on the Devils in front of him.

Lady Sitri placed a hand over her mouth in shock, "Oh, is your clan going through some troubles right now? I did hear that most of the clans outside of the 72 Pillars have had some hard times lately, especially with the way that politics have been lately."

"About that, Mother, I have something to announce." Sona interjected, noticing that Lelouch was being forced into a position that would compromise his identity as a human.

"It's fine, Sona. I think that they should hear it from my mouth." Lelouch stated, standing up from his seat.

"The truth is that I am not a Devil. I am merely a human right now who is a member of the Geass Order." Lelouch announced, leading to Lord and Lady Sitri dropping their forks simultaneously.

"Sona, what is the meaning of this?" Her father asked.

"You have asked me to choose a husband, and I have chosen Lelouch." Sona answered firmly, not willing to back down from her position.

"Sona, you know that we cannot allow this." Lord Sitri countered disappointedly.

"Why not? Lelouch loves me, and I love him. Why can't that be enough?" Sona asked.

Lady Sitri shook her head with a hard expression that was completely different from the one she had earlier, "He is not a Devil, and he cannot be accepted into our society as is. And even if he was reincarnated, his status would still not be enough to be an acceptable husband for you."

"I was expecting that." Lelouch admitted, taking his seat once more.

"But I cannot allow that to stand. I intend to marry Sona, despite what you have said." Lelouch added, causing Lord Sitri to stand angrily.

"And who are you to decide on that? You should be dead already for entering my house as a human. I will do what is best for my daughter, and that does not include allowing her to marry you."

"Do what you want, but I will prove myself to you, one way or another." Lelouch said calmly, not at all fazed by Lord Sitri's threatening look.

"Father, let me do this." Serafall suddenly said in a serious tone.

Lord Sitri glanced at her direction, "Serafall?"

"I will test Lelouch to see if he will be an acceptable husband for Sona. After all, he said that he was willing to prove himself to us." She continued.

"Very well, I accept the terms of your contract." Lelouch said confidently.

"Then it is settled. You will duel me, one on one, and if you win, I will allow you to marry my dear sister. If you lose and you are still lucky enough to have your life, you will never come near her again. Do I make myself clear?" Serafall said in a tone that was completely different from her normally bubbly disposition.

Lelouch nodded, "Perfectly."

* * *

"Now then, we will set up a barrier to prevent the battle from dealing damage to the wildlife. That means the battle will be restricted to this field, and this field only." Sona informed Lelouch, who nodded in understanding. With a determined look on his face, he shrugged his suit off of his shoulders, leaving him dressed in his gray vest and white dress shirt.

"Don't worry about it Sona, I'll win. I guarantee it." He stated, with an undeniable sense of assured confidence about him.

"I trust you." She said softly before grabbing him by the shoulders and quickly kissing him on the lips.

"Good luck." She whispered before she stepped away, a barrier forming in between her and Lelouch.

Lelouch took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He was about to enter into a duel with one of the most powerful beings in all of the Underworld, but that didn't mean that he was any less confident. He was going to win, he had to. If worst came to worst, he would use his Geass on her, but he was hoping to avoid using it for as long as he could.

Without warning, he was suddenly beset by shard of ice coming at him in every direction. Instinctively, he crossed his hands in front of his face and ignited his entire body with violet flames that melted away the ice in an instant.

Focused on the current onslaught, he had no time to react when a stream of water hit him squarely in the chest, extinguishing his flames and sending him flying into the barrier, which held up surprisingly well, considering the impact with which he was flung at it.

Having had the breath knocked out of him, Lelouch held his chest as he attempted to gasp for air, struggling to his feet just as Serafall approached him slowly with a large smile on her face. She took each step deliberately and carefully, knowing that in this instance, she was the predator and he was the prey.

"Aw, it's too bad that you weren't stronger. Oh well, I guess I'll just end it now." Serafall said with a disappointed sigh.

"Celsius Cross Trigger!" She cried out, and immediately, Lelouch felt a chill run down his spine. All around him, he could see snow suddenly form in clumps at an alarmingly fast clip.

"So, this is your technique." Lelouch mumbled, watching as the once grassy field was transformed into a frozen wasteland before his eyes.

Serafall, glee evident in her eyes, pointed a finger at his right leg, and instantly, he could feel ice forming on it by the sudden chill that assaulted him there. With a grunt of effort, he pulled his right foot out of the snow and quickly blasted it with a ball of flame, melting away the ice for the time being.

"All right, I'm not going to hold back!" Serafall cried out, pulling out her wand and waving it around in the air. Blocks of ice rose up out of the various snowdrifts that had been formed by her Celsius Cross Trigger, and immediately, they all hurtled towards Lelouch like runaway trains without any way to stop them. Immediately following that, she fired off a large ball of blue magical energy, intending to fully destroy the teenager.

Serafall grinned as she saw Lelouch weakly put his arms in front of him. There was no way that he was going to be able to stop her attacks now. His power as a human was impressive, but it was comparison when he was put up against someone like her. There was just no way to make up for the disparity in power.

The blocks of ice rammed into Lelouch's hands, quickly followed by the ball of magic, which compounded the attack and resulted in an explosion of ice that rocked the barrier with the sheer magnitude of the strike. Instantly, the shockwave of the attack forced even Serafall to step back a bit, impressed with her handiwork.

Outside of the barrier, both Sona and her parents instinctively cringed upon seeing such an attack. Serafall was already one of the strongest Devils alive, and they knew that when she was motivated, there was almost no one who could overcome her strength.

"Lelouch!" Sona screamed, knowing all too well that the possibility that he was already dead was all too likely at this point. She had never known anyone to be able to withstand one of her sister's attacks, and it didn't look like Lelouch's fate was going to be any different.

Inside the barrier, Serafall instinctively posed in celebration, making the peace sign with her fingers before she began trudging towards the smoke and debris of her last attack. However, as she approached the site, she realized something was very wrong.

"I'm not done yet." She heard a confident voice say coolly, and Serafall's eyes widened in surprise. But there was no way! How could he have survived such an attack from her?

She summoned a powerful wind that whisked away the smoke clouding her vision, revealing Lelouch, very much alive, one hand outstretched.

"What?" Serafall exclaimed, amazed at the sight in front of her. With a grunt of frustration, she punched one hand forward, sending with it a powerful stream of water. Fully expecting it to strike Lelouch as it did before, she was shocked to see him simply stand in place, the same hand outstretched in front of him.

As the water was just about to make contact with him, she saw a hexagon of ice suddenly appear, block said attack.

Furious that she had been stopped, Serafall began flinging project after projectile of ice at him, each being blocked in turn by a different hexagon of ice.

"Meet my Absolute Defense System." Lelouch said with a smile evident on his face, "Try as you want, you won't break through. I was taught this technique by Master Genbu of the Geass Order, the premier practitioner of defensive techniques in the Underworld."

Not at all dissuaded by his claim, Serafall pressed on, continuing with her onslaught of ice based and water based attacks, all of which Lelouch blocked with ease. For her part, Serafall could feel herself slowly getting weaker as she expended more and more energy in an attempt to break Lelouch's barrier.

"Now then, I believe that it's my turn." Lelouch said with a smile, bringing his hands down to his sides. Truthfully, he was tired, as stopping Serafall's attacks took much more of a toll than he was letting on. However, he had effectively frustrated her, which meant that she was now more open to making a mistake that he could hopefully take advantage of.

Firing off two bursts of wind from his hands, he quickly closed the gap between him and a surprised Serafall, who had not at all been expecting him to go on the offensive.

Lelouch quickly charged up a ball of electric energy in his right hand and punched it forward, only to be met by Serafall's wand, which she gripped tightly with both hands and wielded like a staff of some sort. Having had his first attack blocked, Lelouch used his free hand to fire a jet stream of wind at Serafall, sending her tumbling into the snow.

Without any sort of hitch, Serafall utilized the momentum of rolling along the ground to quickly get back to her feet and stab her wand forward, sending a spear of ice along with it. For his part, Lelouch counted with a spear of ice of his own, which met Serafall's right before it pierced his side. Gritting his teeth, Lelouch pushed all of his strength into his spear of ice, hearing a snap as both his and Serafall's spears shattered into pieces at the combined force of their attacks.

Lelouch tossed a lazy lightning bolt at Serafall, who dodged it without much problem and returned the favor by launching a wave of blue magic at Lelouch, who ducked underneath and fired off a stream of flames that almost singed Serafall's hair with its intensity.

Immediately, she countered with a wall of water, causing the two attacks to create a curtain of steam that blocked both of their visions.

Lelouch frantically glanced around at the cloud of steam that he was trapped in, aware that danger could come from any direction at the moment. However, no such attack came, at least, not at first. In the heat of the steam, he could feel beads of sweat roll down the sides of his face and stray strands of hair cling to his face as his eyes scanned the limited field of vision he had at the moment.

At this lull in the combat, he could suddenly feel all of the weariness that adrenaline had managed to suppress until now, forcing him to his knees in exhaustion. His limbs felt like lead, and his head was pounding, not to mention the raging thirst searing his throat. He was going to be done soon if he didn't find a way to settle the fight as quickly as possible.

He saw movement in the fog and immediately, he began charging up a lightning bolt in his hand, despite his exhaustion.

"Partner, I wouldn't do that if I were you." The figure said, causing Lelouch to lower his hand.

"Partner?" Lelouch asked as the figure came closer and closer to him so that he could make out the general shape of his body. It seemed to be that of a frail boy around the age of eight or nine from his height.

"Yes Lelouch, we are partners." The figure stated before it stepped out of the fog, revealing its figure in totality.

Lelouch's eyes widened at the appearance of the person standing in front of him. It was the boy from earlier, only now, he could make out the face without any difficulty or doubt. It was a boy with long raven hair and deep purple eyes dressed in royal robes and whose face was contorted into a devilish grin. In short, it was him.

"Who are you?" Lelouch asked, unnerved by the appearance of someone who looked exactly like him.

"I am you, or more specifically, a part of you that has been sealed away." The figure stated, "I am Kohryu, the Yellow Dragon of the Center, at your service."

"Why are you here, if you've been sealed away?" Lelouch asked, questions racing through his mind.

"I'm not actually here per se, but I figured that it would simply be easier to communicate with you in this way. Besides, after being sealed up for so long, I deserve to walk around a bit, even if it's not real." Kohryu said restlessly, showing the signs of being kept in captivity far too long.

"You still haven't answered my question." Lelouch said coldly, causing the boy to step back in fear.

"Oh, impatient are we? Very well, let me keep it simple. Since you are my host, I don't intend to let you die so soon. I've spent too long stuck in your body to see it all go to waste. You can thank that Master Genbu of yours for this, since he released part of the seal placed on me by the God and Maoh of this world. It wasn't enough for me be to fully released, but it does allow me to at least grant some of my powers to you."

"And why would you do that?" Lelouch asked, skeptical of Kohryu's true intentions, given that he was deemed enough of a threat to be sealed in the past.

The dragon shrugged his shoulders, "Like I said, I don't want to see my wait go to waste. I see a lot of potential in you, and I'm expecting to be entertained. You put on quite the show back in your own world, and I'm expecting more of the same in this one."

"Wait, in my own world? So that means you remember everything that happened before I arrived here?" Lelouch asked.

Kohryu nodded in response, "Yes, I do. But these pesky seals keep me from revealing everything to you. I tried my best to help your memory come back from my appearance in the garden, but it seems that my attempt was unsuccessful, as you couldn't recognize any of the girls. In time, I'll restore your memory. For now, I just need you to win this battle. After all, I am interested in that Sitri girl as well, and it would be a shame for you two to be separated."

And with that, the figure disappeared from Lelouch's view, leaving with some questions answered, and far more still awaiting resolution.

Suddenly, Lelouch felt a surge of energy in his body, and looked down at his hands to find that they were glowing in a bright yellow hue that he had never seen before.

"Now then, feel better?" Kohryu's voice suddenly asked.

"Where are you?" Lelouch replied, glancing around, but seeing no sign of the dragon.

"I'm still sealed within you, but I'll be able to communicate like this without having to take on an appearance. Now then, I've granted you as much power as I possibly can considering the condition I'm in right now. It may not be much, but it should be enough to beat Serafall. You've managed to wear her down, and if you can land one solid hit, she should fall." Kohryu explained.

Lelouch nodded his head, "Got it."

Slowly, he stalked through the cloud clandestinely, forgetting that Serafall would be able to identify him regardless due to the glow he was giving off.

Frustrated with his inability to find her, Lelouch placed his hands out in front of him, creating a pocket of air before imploding it, immediately dispelling all of the smoke and revealing Serafall, who seemed to have been searching for him as well.

Without hesitation, Lelouch punched an arm forward and sent a stream of lighting forward into Serafall, who put up a wall of ice to block the attack. However, Lelouch was not to be stopped, and with renewed determination, increased the intensity of the attack. Slowly but surely, he could see the wall getting weaker and weaker, until it was on the verge of shattering.

Serafall couldn't keep it up, and she knew it. She had already been exhausted by her earlier fighting with Lelouch, and now, while he seemed to have gotten stronger, if anything, she was slowly draining all of her power.

In slow motion, she could see the wall of ice that he been barely holding up fatally crack and shortly afterwards, shatter, allowing all of the violet lightning that Lelouch had been firing through. The force of the strike hurt badly enough, knocking her down to the ground, and the lightning hurt worse, making it feel as if millions of knives were stabbing her all at once as he continued on with his onslaught.

Suddenly, it all stopped and Serafall gave a sigh of relief as the pain stopped.

"Do you give up?" Lelouch asked, extending his arm with a blade of ice and holding it right up to Serafall's throat.

He saw Serafall attempt to sit up to continue the fight, but found that her body failed her for the first time.

"I…I give up." Serafall relented, her body apparently refusing to respond to any of her commands.

"Good." Lelouch replied gratefully before the yellow hue disappeared from his body, and he fell to his knees and collapsed onto his back, having completely exhausted his body.

He looked up at the sky of the Underworld, a swirling mass of color and darkness, completely different from the sky of the Human World, and sighed in relief. He had done it. Somehow, he had managed to beat one of the Four Great Satans.

"Partner, that was exceptional. I can already tell that this will be a beautiful partnership." Kohryu laughed.

"Yes, I suppose so." Lelouch replied before he closed his eyes and the world turned to black.

* * *

"Lelouch, are you okay?"

Lelouch's eyes snapped open as he found himself lying in a bed, with Sona's face hovering above his.

"Sona!" He cried out in surprise.

Suddenly, he found himself being smothered by the girl in a deep hug.

"I can't believe you won. I was so scared, and when you didn't wake up after…" She said, letting him go.

"It's fine now." Lelouch reassured.

"But still, you were out for a week, and I wasn't sure you were ever going to wake up." Sona added, the worry evident on her face.

"I told you to trust me." Lelouch replied with a grin.

Suddenly noticing that they were not the only ones in the room, Lelouch blushed in embarrassment as Lord Sitri cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Well, a promise is a promise, and I don't go back on my word. Besides, Sona really does love you, so I suppose that you have the right to marry my daughter, if you so wish to." He said with considerable difficulty.

"Thank you." Lelouch and Sona said in unison.

"Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have some business to take care of before the engagement party." He finished before leaving the room.

"Engagement party?" Lelouch asked in confusion.

Sona nodded, "Apparently, during our absence, Rias was engaged to Riser Phenex, and their engagement party is going to be tonight."

"Wait, Rias was engaged?" Lelouch asked, sitting up in surprise.

"Yes, and we're among the invited guests."

Before he could pursue the line of questioning any further, Lelouch saw a child like figure, albeit with a much more developed body, walk into the room.

"Serafall, what are you doing here?" Sona asked her sister, who nervously looked down at her feet.

"I just wanted to say welcome to our clan." She answered, looking at Lelouch.

"Thank you." Lelouch replied.

Serafall gulped, "And also, I'm going to make an effort to get close to you too, since you're so close to my adorable sister."

"What?" Lelouch asked in confusion before Serafall suddenly hopped onto the bed, straddling Lelouch while Sona's eyes widened in a combination of surprise and horror. Grabbing the back of Lelouch's head to prevent him from moving, Serafall planted her lips on top of his, kissing him deeply.

"Serafall!" Sona cried out, grabbing her sister and pulling her off of Lelouch.

"That was my first kiss." Serafall said, putting a hand to her lips, "So please, take responsibility for stealing it."

"Stealing it?" Lelouch cried out. If anything, she forced herself upon him, not that he was really complaining.

"Yup, so care for me as well, or I'll erase you with my glittering stick!" Serafall said, making the implication clear by pulling out said stick.

Lelouch looked to Sona for help, but found nothing there. With a sigh, he nodded.

"Okay, I'll take responsibility for you."

"Sona, isn't this great? We'll be even closer as sisters now!" Serafall said happily, clapping her hands together.

"Well, not that I'm entirely against it, but…" Sona trailed off, blushing furiously while Lelouch arched an eyebrow in interest. So there _was_ more to Sona's relationship with her sister than he had originally thought.

"I knew that you would agree!" Serafall cried out, hopping off of Lelouch and onto her sister, who barely managed to hold herself up under their combined weights.

Lelouch watched the two with great interest, before it suddenly occurred to him that Serafall seemed to be moving around much more easily than he was, despite the fact that she had lost their battle. In fact, despite winning, he had been unconscious for a week, while it seemed like Serafall must have been up and active for much longer than that.

"Wait a second…" He muttered to himself before he shook his head. There was no way that she had lost on purpose, right? However, the thought kept on nagging him until he was forced to ask.

"Say, Serafall, doesn't it bother you that I'm human though?" Lelouch asked, causing Serafall to suddenly stop struggling with her sister and look at him with a confused expression.

"No, why would it?" She I asked.

"Oh, no reason at all." Lelouch replied with a forced smile on his face.

So it had all been an act. The harsh treatment, the duel. It had all been a ploy to get closer to Sona. She had never intended to win. While it did console him to know that Serafall didn't hate him as he had originally thought, it did hurt his confidence somewhat to know that he had only won the fight earlier because she had allowed him to.

Shrugging off what she deemed odd behavior by Lelouch, Serafall returned to her original act of latching onto her sister, who was half heartedly resisting by now while Lelouch rubbed his forehead, trying to alleviate the headache that had suddenly began plaguing him.

"Well then Partner, it looks like things just got more interesting." Kohryu cackled from within his head.

Lelouch nodded. He really needed an aspirin right now.

* * *

**I know that the tone of this chapter ended on a more comedic note than I would normally write with, but when Serafall's in the picture, you can't help but to have some comedy, right? Hopefully, you guys all agree with me that Serafall should be dating Lelouch along with Sona, given how much of a siscon she is for Sona. Besides, I don't think that there's a better combination than Lelouch with a Magical Girl, expect for maybe Lelouch with a loli. Also, with Kohryu, I imagine that he's an odd guy, considering that he's been sealed within Lelouch for at least 17 years. **

**Beyond that, I have chosen to kind of skip over the whole fight with Riser, since that doesn't pertain at all to Lelouch. However, the end of that arc will be a part of this story, albeit with a different outcome. I think that it will be the best way for my story to proceed form now on, while still staying true to the original light novels. But as always, I leave it up to you. Do you guys think that it would be better just to have Lelouch fully involved in every story arc, or for him to have his own story that coincides with major events from the original story? **

**As usual, feel free to leave any thoughts you guys have, either in the form of a review or PM! I really appreciate any and all thoughts I get, so please, keep them coming! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry that the update took longer than the one week it should have, but volleyball is starting up for me, so I have less time each week to write, and I apologize for it. So, please enjoy the continuation of Of Queens and Emperors.**

* * *

Chapter 10

"Sona, how do I look?" Lelouch asked Sona, who gave him a quick once over. He was dressed in clothes that were more reminiscent of that of a military officer than the suit he had worn the day before, with a dark grey uniform that matched his eyes, and completed with silver trim. His shoulders were adorned with two white epaulettes, and he wore shining black military style boots paired with pure white gloves, giving the impression that he was a high ranking noble Devil, at least as far as his appearance went.

"You look good." She replied quickly, turning her head so that he wouldn't notice the blush that had come over her face. To tell the truth, for as serious as she was, she had always had a bit of a fantasy of marrying some great Devil knight or hero, at least when she was still young. Although her dreams had changed significantly since then, she was still rather attracted to the idea of dating a dashing young officer.

And Lelouch did a convincing job, at least in her opinion.

"Sona, doesn't he look just like the knight you've always wanted to marry?" Serafall exclaimed, having somehow stayed silent for the last few minutes while Sona and Lelouch dressed, a rather impressive feat in itself.

However, Sona was less than amused by her sister's choice of words.

"Don't bring that up!" She stammered quickly, before Lelouch could ask what was going on, although from Sona's tone, he could tell that she was clearly embarrassed.

"Oh, you're so cute when you blush like that!" Serafall cried out, hopping off of her spot on the floor and grabbing Sona from behind. She struggled, but was helpless against Serafall, who was deceptively strong, considering her appearance.

Watching his girlfriend being groped by her magical girl sister, Lelouch couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the sight before him, in spite of himself.

"Partner, are you enjoying this as much as I am?" Kohryu asked, his voice booming into Lelouch's head. Lelouch gave an appreciative nod, resulting in Kohryu laughing heartedly.

"Sona, Serafall, we're going to be leaving soon!" Lord Sitri announced as he suddenly opened the door to Sona's room, a large smile on his face.

However, as soon as he walked in and saw the sight of his two daughters seemingly being forced to touch each other by Lelouch, his expression changed more into one of exasperation than anything else.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting this from you, Lelouch. And you seemed like a good enough boy too." He lamented, to which Lelouch groaned.

"This isn't what it looks like." He replied, although he knew that would have no bearing on what his future father in law now thought of him.

* * *

"And now, presenting, the Sitri Clan!" A footman cried out, announcing their presence to the rest of the occupants of the dance hall.

"Thank you." Lelouch said awkwardly as two guards opened the door for him and Sona, as well as Serafall, who had latched onto his other arm, throwing the room into complete silence as they saw the couple appear before them.

Obviously, they were all in shock to see a completely unknown person acting as the date of both sisters of the Sitri Clan, who were renowned across the Underworld for their strength, intelligence, and beauty. It wasn't every day that either of the sisters were seen with a man, let alone both of them dating the same one. It had to be a surprise indeed.

Also, at the same time, Lelouch could sense a predatory aura coming from various partygoers, all of whom were powerful Devils in their own right. At the sight of a newcomer in their midst, they were likely all probing out any sort of possible weaknesses and secrets that they could take advantage of later on.

However, Lelouch kept a completely blank face and stood with a rigid posture, refusing to give them any hints as to what his identity would be and concealing his personality, at least for the time being. He had dealt with their types before in the political world, if his limited memory served him correctly, and had quickly learned that if you gave any of them even one inch, they would pounce. And so, he showed no emotion, keeping an entirely straight face as he strode forward, an air of confidence about him.

To his right, he could see Sona doing much of the same, although to a lesser extent, as she was already fairly known by most of the nobles attending the engagement party tonight. There wasn't really much for her to conceal, but for the sake of appearance, she walked alongside him with the same air of confidence, a small smile planted on her face as to appear more congenial.

However, to his right, he could see Serafall doing the complete opposite of her sister, constantly posing to show off her dress, a huge smile on her face that did not seem to be forced in the slightest. It seemed that she did genuinely enjoy being at the party, and had no concern in the slightest about showing off her personality to all of the witnesses around her. Although, being one of the strongest Devils in the Underworld, Lelouch wasn't really concerned about her safety among the aristocrats. He figured that she would handle herself just fine.

"Ah, Sona, is this your fiancée?" A brown haired woman that bore an uncanny resemblance to Rias asked as she approached them.

"No, he is just my boyfriend for now. But marriage is likely down the road." Sona reassured quickly, adding the second part immediately after.

"I see. And Serafall, are you dating this man as well?" A crimson haired man who looked exactly like a male version of Rias asked, walking up besides the woman.

"Of course, Sirzechs! Anyone that my adorable sister dates, I have to as well!" Serafall replied happily, making it clear that she was at least close to this person.

"Oh, Lelouch, you haven't met any of them before yet, have you? This is Lady Gremory, and this is Sirzechs Lucifer." Sona introduced, and Lelouch nodded to each in turn.

Sirzech's brow furrowed in confusion, "Lelouch? You wouldn't happen to be the same Lelouch who is working alongside my sister, would you?"

"Yes, I am." Lelouch replied, causing Sirzechs to smile and place a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, why didn't you say so? Rias has mentioned you quite a few times before. If I didn't know any better, I would have guessed that you two were dating as well. Unless of course, you are dating all of these girls and you are just using my precious sister." Sirzechs said with a malicious aura.

"Oh no. I have no intention of doing such a thing." Lelouch replied quickly, understanding the threat. It seemed that Sirzechs was as overbearing a sibling as Serafall was, much to his disappointment. So far, out of the Four Great Satans, two of them were simply overprotective siscons. Now he was beginning to understand exactly why the Devils had not won the conflict yet.

"Oh, so you don't have any intention of rescuing her from Riser either?" Sirzechs asked.

"Rescuing her? You mean you don't support this marriage?" Lelouch asked.

Sirzechs' mouth formed a small little smile as he looked Lelouch in the eye, "I wouldn't say that I don't support it, but I wouldn't be against someone calling it off."

Before he could continue any more, Lelouch saw a burst of flames in the center of the room. As it dissipated, the figure of Rias, along with a blond haired man that Lelouch assumed to be Riser appeared out of the flames. He instantly locked eyes with Rias, who was in a white wedding dress, and he could feel her eyes begging for help.

Suddenly, the blond haired man pulled Rias close to him and laughed. In response, Rias flinched for a moment before she closed her eyes and slightly dipped her forehead downwards in submission, a few stray hairs falling over her face.

"Everyone, I would like to thank you all for coming to the engagement between the Phenex and Gremory clans!" Riser announced, leading to scattered applause.

Lelouch remained still, not making any move at all to join the clapping, and he noticed that Sona and Serafall abstained as well.

"Now then, Lelouch, what are you going to do?" Sirzechs asked interestedly from behind him in a hushed whisper.

Understanding what the Satan's intention was, Lelouch took a deep breath before giving Sona an apologetic glance. He dropped his arms to his sides and stepped in front of Serafall and Sona, who both gave him a nod of approval.

"Are you okay with this?" Lelouch asked Sona.

She gave him a small smile, "Don't worry. I can't stand him either."

Relieved that she had not taken offense to the fact that he was intervening on the behalf of another woman, Lelouch pressed on, taking powerful and confident steps, boots clacking and epaulettes swaying with every step he took.

"So, you didn't tell Issei to come?" Sona asked Sirzechs, who shook his head.

"I've been watching this Lelouch for quite some time now, and I'm interested to see exactly what he's capable of." Sirzechs replied, completely focused on the scene in front of him, ready to intervene if necessary. Truth be told, although he had not met the man in person yet until this moment, he knew all too well who and what Lelouch was. And what Lelouch was could be a valuable asset to the Devils.

* * *

"Riser Phenex." Lelouch stated in an authoritative voice, garnering the Devil's attention, as well as that of Rias, who looked to him gratefully.

"Lelouch." She whispered quietly, and he could see relief wash over her face.

"Eh? What do you want?" Riser asked, already annoyed with the raven haired teen standing in front of him. He had the look of a general or officer of some sort, but Riser could not distinctly ever meeting him before.

With a completely serious face, Lelouch stared at the Devil, unnerving him, "I challenge you to a duel, for the hand of Rias Gremory. If I lose, I'll leave you two alone. However, if I win, this marriage is off."

"Who the hell do you think you are, coming to my engagement party and interrupting it so rudely?" Riser growled in anger.

"Now now, don't blame poor Lelouch here for wanting to marry my beautiful sister as well." Sirzechs interrupted, his comment bringing a blush to Rias' face.

"But I think that it would be a splendid idea for you to accept this duel, as a sort of demonstration of your devotion to my sister." Sirzechs added.

Realizing that he couldn't turn down an indirect order from Sirzechs, Riser nodded in understanding.

"Very well. I accept."

Sirzechs grinned and clapped his hands together, "Well then, I've already had the liberty of having an arena prepared before hand for such an event."

With a snap of his fingers, Lelouch and Riser both found themselves suddenly standing across from each other in the middle of a courtyard surrounded on all sides by large stone walls.

"Do you really think that you can actually defeat the immortal phoenix? I am still undefeated in Rating Games, and I am far stronger than your precious Rias." Riser said arrogantly.

"Partner, we cannot allow him to get away with an insult like that!" Kohryu stated angrily, furious at the arrogance of Riser.

"Don't worry, I'll have him on his knees, begging for life very soon." Lelouch reassured the Dragon, before he turned his attention to Riser, "I will make you feel pain."

As he said that, Riser saw a sudden change come over his eyes for a split second before it was gone and forgotten.

"Well? Let's begin." Riser said impatiently, lighting his hands on fire and flinging two fireballs at Lelouch.

Immediately, Lelouch ducked underneath the attack before he was burned, and returned the favor by firing off a powerful bolt of lightning, which struck Riser straight in the face. Expecting the man to cry out in pain, Lelouch was surprised when Riser had no reaction at all, instead continuing on with his assault of fireballs.

Taking a closer look, he saw that he had indeed seared off the man's face, but it was rapidly healing itself in a burst of flame.

"The power of the phoenix is healing his injuries." Kohryu informed Lelouch, who gritted his teeth in frustration. The fact that he was constantly healing himself would not be advantageous.

Still not dissuaded, Lelouch decided that his best choice was to engage Riser in hand to hand combat, utilizing the wind to push himself forward, dodging various attacks all the while.

Coming within range of the man, Lelouch ignited his fists and took a small swing at Riser, which was blocked by the Devil, who retaliated with a punch of his own, which Lelouch parried as well, knocking Riser's aside with little difficulty.

Trying to take advantage of Riser's arm, which was immobilized for the time being, Lelouch swung his left leg, connecting with Riser's side before he encased his right arm in ice and stabbed it forward, impaling the Devil.

However, once again, he found that his attack had really no effect on the Devil, who shrugged off the attack and shoved Lelouch backwards, forcing him to melt away the blade covering his arm.

"Haven't you learned yet? You cannot hurt me." Riser said confidently as his chest was engulfed in flames that melted away, revealing that it had fully healed.

Not content to give in at that, Lelouch loosened his collar before he charged forward again at Riser, who stood back, ready to counter whatever Lelouch had planned. He pointed his right hand forward, firing off a thick stream of shards of ice, causing Riser to counter with a wall of flame, and leaped up in the air, engulfing his body in purple flames that would have likely charred any other Devil and launching his body forward with a burst of air fired off from his hands, effectively turning himself into a flaming projectile.

He closed the gap quickly between him and Riser with his attack, and crashed into the Devil, sending both of them to the ground in a mess of limbs. The two struggled mightily with each other as they tumbled around, each gaining the upper hand for a moment before the other turned the tables on them.

"Get off of me!" Riser yelled, releasing an explosion of air that flung Lelouch skyward. Sensing weakness, two wings sprouted out of Riser's back and he flapped them vigorously to engage Lelouch mid air.

Feeling weightless and ethereal, Lelouch regained enough of his senses to manipulate the air around him until he was steadied, noticing that Riser was rapidly approaching. Placing his arms in front of him, Lelouch created a large wall of ice to stop the Devil for the time being.

However, Riser was not one to be stopped, and he quickly burst through the defense with a burst of flames that melted away the ice in an instant.

Meeting Lelouch midair, Riser reached out with a fist, swinging with surprising force considering he had no leverage to do so, which Lelouch dropped underneath, using his control over the wind to his advantage. From below the Devil, he shot his body forward, driving a fist straight into Riser's stomach, despite knowing that it would not do much in terms of damage.

His face hardened, and he focused intensely, sending an electrical current through his arm and straight into Riser's body. With a scream of agony as he felt electricity stab at him, Riser flailed around, managing to kick Lelouch in the face, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Riser frowned as he felt the pain stop and allowed himself to fall to the ground across from Lelouch, breathing heavily. Although it was true that he could heal from any wound and was effectively immortal, it didn't mean that he couldn't feel pain, especially when it came from an attack as powerful as the one he had just suffered.

And, although he didn't want to admit, throughout the whole duel, he had been feeling every one of Lelouch's attacks, for some odd reason. It was a highly unusual occurrence for him to be sensitive to so many attacks, but either something was very wrong with him, or Lelouch was just exceptionally powerful.

"You're starting to feel it, aren't you?" Lelouch asked as he picked himself off of the ground, dusting off some dirt on his shoulder.

"What did you do to me?" Riser replied, unable to understand why this Lelouch was so powerful, and yet, a complete unknown in the Underworld.

Lelouch grinned, "I gave you a command earlier, to 'feel pain' right before our match started. I know you've done an excellent job of hiding it so far, but now, it's completely visible to me."

Riser's eyes widened in shock.

"Now, I'll finish this battle." Lelouch stated, as Kohryu cackled in his mind.

"Now, that look on his face was truly a sight to see! Partner, you really are devious, aren't you?"

"I'm just doing what is necessary for victory. All the conditions have been met." Lelouch replied, once again encasing his arm in ice, but this time, adding the extra measure of sending an electrical current through the blade.

"Even so, I'll still kill you." Riser replied, preparing himself once more for combat.

Lelouch raised his free arm and instantly, Riser was surrounded on all sides by large blocks of ice that cleaved the ground and completely obscured his vision outside of the small radius inside the ice formation. He slowly circled around, ready for the attack that could come from any direction.

"Got you." He heard, and he looked up just in time to see Lelouch descend upon him and cut across his shoulder with his ice blade, shocking his entire arm. He lifted up his other arm to attack with a burst of fire, but had to time to respond as Lelouch hit him square in the chest with a projectile of air, sending him flying backwards into the ice wall behind him with enough force to make the frozen liquid crack a bit as his back met ice.

Instantly, Lelouch was upon him, slashing this way and that, inflicting painful gashes all over his body that healed quickly enough, only to be reopened by cut after cut of the electricity infused blade, shocking him while also sending a chill through his body.

However, he was not ready to give in at all, and was not about to suffer his first true defeat. With a roar, Riser unleashed a torrid explosion of flame from his body, completely melting the ice walls and sending Lelouch flying from the force of the impact.

"That's it, I've had enough!" Riser screamed, fire consuming his body almost entirely. His eyes were now completely white, body completely and utterly under the influence of the phoenix, giving Riser new strength to continue fighting with.

Lelouch groaned in pain as he felt the impact of being thrown back, and attempted to get to his feet, but found that his legs were jelly, completely drained by his extensive use of magic.

"Partner, this is a difficult situation." Kohryu reminded Lelouch, who nodded.

"Indeed it is." He replied, but still found himself unable to find the strength to continue moving.

Lelouch gritted his teeth as his thoughts began drifting towards Rias, and her desperate expression from before. She was going to end up married to this man, unless he could do something about it. However, the chance that he was going to come out on top was seeming less and less likely by the second.

Truth be told, he was grateful to Rias for what she had done for him thus far, and actually considered her to be his…friend. She had been the one to find him initially, and the one who had given him this new life. And now, it was his chance to repay her, if he could ever find the strength to get off the ground on which he currently lay, sprawled out.

"This is good indeed. It seems you have reached a state in which you can finally use at least some of the power bestowed upon you." Kohryu's voice sounded, and Lelouch suddenly felt a surge of power throughout his body, revitalizing him, specifically in his right hand, which was bathed in a warmness that instantly made Lelouch forget about all of his exhaustion.

He hoisted himself up, and looked down to his right hand to see that he suddenly possessed a ring that he could not recall ever seeing before on his ring finger. He lifted his hand up to his face, and saw that it was golden and made in the shape of a dragon wrapping itself around his finger, with the distinct appearance of being hornless.

"This is the Longinus Gear, the Ring of the Emperor, or Celestial Manipulate." Kohryu explained, "It grants you the absolute power of the king, meaning that you can shape the land to your desire through manipulation of quintessence. As you once said, you destroy and create worlds, and now, your desires have been realized through your strength of will, creating a weapon that can do such a thing."

Lelouch looked down at his hands, and nodded, feeling empowered at his newfound ability.

"Celestial Manipulate!" Lelouch shouted, and in response, his ring began glowing, and he could feel his vision suddenly become clearer. Beyond that, he now saw little specks of an unknown glowing material all around him, and a large amount of the material pooled inside of Riser's body.

Deciding that this must be the Quintessence that his Longinus Gear described, he focused on recalling the material, and found that it eagerly responded to his command, flying into his own body from every direction in the air, directly absorbing through his skin.

Lelouch could feel that he was actually feeling stronger, as more and more of the material flowed into his body, enriching his limbs with newfound strength.

Riser stomped forward, relishing the pain that he had seen in Lelouch's eyes as he tossed him backwards. However, as he watched the teen stand up, he could feel that something was completely different from before. It was as if he had been reborn in the middle of the fight, despite his battered appearance.

Even that did not last long, as he saw Lelouch's wounds on his face all suddenly close up, and instead, it seemed as if the teen was getting healthier, if anything. Despite the fact that he himself was an extremely powerful Devil, he instinctively took a step back as Lelouch was suddenly covered in a bright golden glow that burned his eyes just to look upon it, almost as if it was a heavenly light, although it had a different feel to it.

Lelouch pointed his right hand forward, completely energized by the presence of Quintessence in his body, and fired off a powerful stream of golden magic that struck Riser directly in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards a bit, even as his chest automatically healed itself.

Remembering Kohryu's word also described an ability to destroy, Lelouch decided to test out that aspect as well, focusing mainly on the essence that he could see inside of Riser's body. He pulled his hand back towards his body, and like puppets on a string, he could see shining material leave Riser's body, immediately extinguishing his flames and bringing him to his knees.

Deciding that he should absorb Riser's essence as well, Lelouch allowed it to assimilate with his skin and enter his body. However, immediately, something felt wrong as he did so. He could feel his entire body rejecting the Quintessence, and fell to the floor, hacking up blood as he did so.

"What's wrong with me?" He gasped as a fresh round of convulsions struck him.

"Your body cannot handle this amount of energy yet. You have to release it somehow!" Kohryu said urgently, and Lelouch weakly nodded. He lifted a hand towards Riser and released all of his energy, creating a huge bolt of golden lightning that smashed directly into Riser's weakened figure.

The Devil was knocked flat onto his back, screaming out in agony as the electricity rocked his body, twitching him this way and that, pain coursing through every fiber of his being, almost as if he had been hit with a million spears of light at once, or was bathing himself in a river of Holy Water, the electricity searing his skin and organs.

"Lelouch has been declared the victor!" Sirzechs hurriedly appeared in the middle of the battlefield, rushing over to Riser's side to directly intervene with the damage that had been dealt to the Devil. It was not too serious of a situation, as Riser was still an immortal individual, but still, the way that the blond was screaming out wasn't the best indication.

He quickly grasped his hand and focused on draining out some of the energy left over from the attack that had brought Riser to this state, absorbing some of the magic that Lelouch had fired off, finding it to be of a much higher power register than most electrical attacks, almost as if it had been infused with another element. This was a very curious development indeed.

"Brother!" A young blond haired girl in a pink dress cried out, joining Sirzechs' side as she shot a glare at Lelouch, who barely managed to get to his feet, wiping a bit of blood off of the side of his mouth. He didn't need to look in the mirror to know that he probably looked like crap, with his hair caked with dust, face covered with blood splatters, and his once spotless officer's uniform now torn in several places and completely covered with an assortment of dirt and blood.

"Ravel, give him room to breathe." Sirzechs advised, standing up and stepping back to allow Riser to regain a normal breathing rate and pulse.

"That was just a normal attack, right? There is no way anyone could have hurt Big Brother like this, at least, not any normal Devil." Ravel observed, turning her head once more to stare fearfully at Lelouch.

"Who are you?"

Before Lelouch could respond, Sirzechs snapped his fingers, and suddenly, they were back in the ballroom, standing in the middle of a stunned crowd that had just witnessed an improbable outcome to a fight that had a foregone conclusion, at least, initially.

"Answer me, who are you? No normal Devil could do this to my brother." Ravel repeated her question, causing Lelouch to clear his throat, realizing that all eyes were on him.

"My name is Lelouch, and I am the human host of Kohryu, the Heavenly Dragon of the Center." He stated slowly and clearly, realizing the outrage that his words were about to create.

"A human?"

"The Phenex son was defeated by a mere human?"

"How did he get to the Underworld?"

Lelouch heard whispers all around him, from all of the occupants of the room, except for those who knew him personally.

Noticing Sona and Serafall in the middle of the crowd, he took a confident step forward, noticing that the Devils all recoiled from his presence, save for Sona and Serafall.

"Now now, don't be so afraid of Lelouch here." Sirzechs said from behind him, placing a protective hand on Lelouch's shoulder.

"Sirzechs, you approve of the presence of a human in our midst?" A red haired man who Lelouch assumed to be Lord Gremory asked.

Sirzechs nodded, "Of course. He is our ally, not our enemy. As you all know, a Fallen Angel function was disrupted by an unknown presence a few months ago. Lelouch here was that unknown presence."

Upon hearing Sirzechs' words, some of the more intrepid Devils stepped forward once more, not quite as afraid as before. After all, if he was an enemy of the Fallen Angels, he couldn't be that bad, right?

"Grayfia, we should probably get Riser out of here." Sirzechs whispered to his wife, who nodded in agreement and set out to do her task of removing Riser from the grounds.

"Lelouch!"

Lelouch turned to the source of the voice, which was Rias, who was now staring at him with tears in her eyes.

"Rias?" He asked in a confused tone before she ran up to him and buried herself in his chest, hugging him tightly.

"You risked your life for me." She told him, and he awkwardly nodded.

"Well, I didn't really have a choice." He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Partner, it seems you are quite popular with the women, aren't you?" Kohryu cackled in joy.

"Shut up." Lelouch snapped at the voice, turning his attention back to Rias, who looked content to continue snuggling up to him, despite the fact that they were in public.

For her part, Rias couldn't help but to feel a deep gratitude towards Lelouch. Although she had never asked him to, he had saved her from a marriage that she wanted absolutely no part of. Beyond that, the way he was dressed in the moment only managed to accentuate his charm and handsome looks, making him seem just like some Devil war hero that had come to rescue her.

Sure, she was an independent woman, but she would be lying if she said that she had never dreamed of such a thing.

"So, Lelouch, since you did defeat Rias' fiancé, you wouldn't happen to be interested in marry my dear sister, would you?" Sirzechs asked hopefully, before being struck on the head by a glittering wand.

"No fair! Sirzechs, you can't just take my and Sona's boyfriend like that!" Serafall complained, pouting as she did so.

"Lelouch, is there something you would like to tell me?" Sona asked angrily, though it was still in a relatively calm voice. She definitely wasn't happy at all to see her boyfriend being felt up by another woman, and not choosing to do anything about it.

"Please Sona, this isn't what it looks like!" Lelouch insisted as Rias finally loosened her grip on him. At this, she couldn't help but to feel a pain stabbing at her heart. To be reminded of the fact that Lelouch had come to the Underworld for the specific reason of spending time with Sona and not her made her feel strangely upset.

Obviously, she was angry that Sona was trying to steal a powerful ally from her, but there was something far more important to her, although she didn't exactly understand what it was. Was it…jealousy?

No! There was no way that she was jealous of Sona, because that would imply that she cared for Lelouch in a way that transcended friendship, and there was no way that she could feel that way about him, right?

"Sorry, I'm just a bit affectionate. It's a problem for members of my clan." Rias explained, which Sirzechs nodded in agreement with.

"But can you blame Lelouch? After all, my sister is the most beautiful Young Devil in the entire Underworld." He said proudly, to which Serafall shook her head.

"Ahem, I think you mean that my Sona is the most beautiful Young Devil in the entire Underworld." Serafall retorted.

As he watched the two duel off on the behalf of their respective sisters, who were both looking away in embarrassment, Lelouch was suddenly beset on both sides by Jeremiah and Shirley, who wore varying expressions ranging from indifference and joy.

"Master Lelouch, you really did well out there to activate your Sacred Gear." Jeremiah said, a smile plastered on his face. He really was proud of Lelouch for somehow finding the kind of motivation that broke through one of the seals placed on him that had hidden his Sacred Gear until it was ready to be released.

"Yes, you did well." Shirley admitted begrudgingly, refusing to meet Lelouch's line of sight. She was still confused, to say the least, about where she stood with Lelouch. If what Jeremiah had told her was true, then it meant that she actually had a crush on him, but that was ridiculous.

Shirley shook her head, completely squashing the thought. She couldn't think of something like that, not when there were so many things to be done. Her father was still a captive of the Fallen Angels, and they were only marginally closer to their original goal of rescuing him than they were a few months ago.

"Shirley, are you okay?" Lelouch asked, leading her to nod quickly in response.

"I have some things I need to take care of." She said quickly pushing past Lelouch and melting into the crowd of the party, which was in the process of prematurely ending, in light of the fact that the host was in a critical state as a result of a duel.

"Say, how did you guys end up here in the first place?" Lelouch asked Jeremiah, as he had stayed put, unlike Shirley.

"Well, Shirley and I came along with the Occult Research Club, minus Issei, who is still recovering from some wounds that were inflicted on him by Riser during the Rating Game earlier this week. Master Genbu declined, but Raynare should be around here as well." Jeremiah informed him.

"Also, as for the status report you requested, Raynare is still making steady progress, and she seems to be accepting her role as a potential member of the Geass Order." He continued, causing Lelouch to glance around quickly to find the Fallen Angel, spotting her standing outside of the main ballroom on a balcony.

* * *

"Raynare, what are you doing out here?" Lelouch asked, walking out behind her on the balcony, appreciating the cool air that licked his skin.

"Oh, Lelouch." Raynare greeted, barely acknowledging him, in a completely different tone that he wasn't used to.

"Raynare, what's bothering you?" Lelouch asked.

"Lelouch, do you hate me?" Raynare asked frankly, and Lelouch's eyes widened at the bluntness of the question.

"Of course not, what makes you say that?" Lelouch replied.

"Back in there, when Sirzechs mentioned that you fought against the Fallen Angels, all of them suddenly accepted your presence. It just reminded me of how hated we are by some other factions, so I wouldn't be surprised if you felt the same way too." Raynare admitted, continuing to look away from him.

"But I don't want you to hate me. You were the only person who has ever cared for me. Sure, I had the other Fallen Angels, but none of them ever truly cared about me, like you did when you saved my life. When that happened, I don't know what happened to me. I think…I think I fell in love with you. But witnessing what happened here today made me realize how stupid I was, to think that you could ever feel the same about me.

I was just deluding myself, and I tried to see things that weren't ever there. All I want is for someone to love me, is that too much to ask? I fell from Heaven because of that, and even so, I still haven't found what I've been looking for. Why is it that everyone can find their happiness but me?" Raynare said with tears in her eyes.

Lelouch took in Raynare's impassioned words and nodded in agreement.

"I wouldn't say that I'm exactly accepted by everyone either. I'm a human, after all. I'm probably hated by just as many people as you are. We're both outsiders." He replied softly.

As he did, he saw a glimmer of hope cross through Raynare's eyes, and internally, he smiled at the response he had elicited.

"Then please, can you just tell me that you love me? It doesn't really have to be true or mean anything, but I just want to hear it from your mouth." Raynare begged, wrapping her arms around Lelouch's frame and pulling herself close to him.

"I love you." Lelouch whispered low enough so that only she could hear it, and Raynare swore she was in heaven, even if it wasn't real. He was just lying, she knew, but if she could just pretend that maybe he wasn't, and that he meant those words from the heart, then maybe she would find some hope to carry on for.

Meanwhile, Lelouch gently placed his own arms around Raynare's shoulders, softly cradling her in his arms. He did feel bad for manipulating her feelings this way, but it was something that had to be done. She was a part of his plans, and he needed total loyalty, any way it came.

So why did it make him feel so horrible?

* * *

**If you guys are wondering what I envisioned Lelouch to be dressed in, think like a navy uniform or something. He's kind of also dressed a bit like Robert E. Lee, another great leader of men in history, much like Lelouch has the potential to become. Anyways, just so you guys get a better idea of what Lelouch's Longinus is all about, let me explain a bit about what it encompasses.**

**Quintessence is known as kind of the "fifth element," according to Greek and Chinese belief, and is represented by the Huanglong, also known as Kohryu, also known as the Yellow Dragon of the Center. It kind of goes beyond normal elements like fire or water, and is thought to be more related to the heavens and gods, which explains why it would be so damaging to someone like Riser, a Devil, as it is, in a way, a holy element that would predictably cause more damage to a Devil, who is weak to holy attacks. I will elaborate more on the workings and abilities of Celestial Manipulate later on, but I just wanted you guys to have some understanding of what it is. What do you guys think of my interpretation of a new Sacred Gear? If you guys have any suggestions and improvements to make on it, please, let me know in a review or PM.**

**Also, I'm sorry to anyone who was expecting more Akeno romance, but I think that Raynare needs some now and then too. She really is a more complex character than she initially seems, at least in my opinion, and all she really wants is the approval or love of someone, more than power, more than strength. Power and strength to her are more of an ends to a means than actual goals. She believes that through acquiring those things, she will be beloved and receive the attention and love she has always desired, or at least, that's how I always saw her. **

**Beyond that, feel free to leave any thoughts you guys have, either in the form of a review or PM! I really appreciate any and all thoughts I get, so please, keep them coming!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry about the long time between updates! I've just gone through three of the most grueling weeks of my life, with testing, volleyball, and me getting sick. So, I haven't really had much time to write, and this is a shorter chapter. Still, I hope you enjoy the continuation of Of Queens and Emperors.**

* * *

Chapter 11

"Thank you." Raynare whispered, her eyes still closed in a state of euphoria. To be in Lelouch's arms, to feel his heartbeat, to smell his cologne, to experience his warmth, to hear his voice whisper "I love you," was heaven. She knew of no other place she would rather be in at this moment, content to just enjoy the feeling of being intertwined with the man she loved and admired.

However, she knew that the moment could not last, as much as she wanted it to. The truth was, Lelouch wasn't, and likely would never be hers. He had told her that they were similar, but she knew that to be false.

Whereas Lelouch was beloved by so many, and destined for great things, she was hated, and nothing more than a mere follower, or a pawn in the game being played by those more powerful than her. She was nothing, meant nothing, and she knew it. The realization hurt, stabbing at her heart like a million daggers, but she did her best not to show the pain. Doing so would only elicit more scorn, and that was something she could not bear.

She would have to stay strong, and hold her chin up high, at least until she was alone. Then she could fall apart, like she wanted to do right now.

"I'm okay now." She added, patting Lelouch's chest softly and taking a step back, feeling his arms suddenly release at her gesture. As they did so, Raynare almost cried out at the sudden loss of warmth, but kept a straight face on before she nodded to Lelouch and turned away from him, not wanting him to see tears that were quickly forming in her eyes.

"Raynare…" He began, but she shook her head.

"It's fine. You don't have to pretend anymore." She replied quickly, her voice quivering slightly at the end, a detail not lost on Lelouch, who nodded in reply, understanding that she needed time alone.

"I guess I'll talk to you later, when all of this is over and I can go back to school." Lelouch offered, hoping that his words would console Raynare a bit in an attempt to alleviate the gnawing emptiness he felt in his own heart.

He felt like a monster, pretending to play the role that she had picked for him, and he was eager to do whatever it would take to get rid of the feeling of disgust that rose up within him as he did so.

"Yes. I can't wait." Raynare managed before she walked away looking exceptionally vulnerable, with her head hung low and lethargy in her gait.

As he watched her leave his sight and reenter the ballroom, Lelouch ran a hand through his hair and sighed deeply, somewhat disappointed in himself. He knew that everything he was doing was serving the purpose of furthering his plans, but it just made him feel so devilish doing so. He was breaking her heart, and for what purpose? To build some order that he honestly did not have much stake in?

His confidence was shaken, that was for sure. For a long time, he had been certain that this was what he wanted, but now, he wasn't so sure. Did he really want to accomplish his goals with total disregard for those around him? Was that a goal even worth pursuing?

Before he could dwell on the topic any longer, he suddenly felt a powerful presence crop up near him, and instinctively turned around, to find himself facing the source of the aura. It was a handsome young man with black hair that was slightly messier than his own, dressed in a jacket that was reminiscent of a school uniform, but with a distinctive Chinese flair coloring the rest of his clothes.

"You are an interesting man, you know that?" The man stated with a relaxed air, completely in control of the situation.

"And who are you?" Lelouch replied, not eager to meet someone who posed such an immediate threat.

The man smiled charismatically, and took a small little bow, tilting his head so that he could look straight at Lelouch.

"My name is Cao Cao, descendent of the man of the same name, recorded in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms." He announced, reveling in the introduction.

"There's no need for you to introduce yourself. I already know you and your identity, Lelouch." He added, interrupting Lelouch before he could even open his mouth.

"I see. And for what purpose are you talking to me?" Lelouch asked, not to be interrupted again.

"I'm interested in you, and your abilities. I believe that I will make my intention to you clear soon enough. For now, just know that as a human, you are not as weak as you think you are. Also, know that you are not alone, and that there are other humans who are willing to support you, should you allow them to." Cao Cao said, as if he were intimating a detail that was still unknown to Lelouch.

It was at this moment that he noticed that Cao Cao wielded a large spear in his right hand, and instantly recoiled at the sight, acting purely on instinct.

"The True Longinus!" Kohryu growled, clearly knowledgably on the spear that the man possessed.

"Now now, don't be intimidated. I don't plan on using this, unless, of course, you give me good reason to." Cao Cao reassured, although Lelouch was still far from trusting the man.

Noticing that Lelouch still had not moved closer, Cao Cao sighed, "Really. I have no intention of removing a possible asset this early on. Trust me."

"What exactly do you want from me?" Lelouch asked, realizing that he was still not receiving any answers whatsoever.

"In due time. In due time." Cao Cao chided, almost as if he were speaking to a child, infuriating Lelouch. However, with his knowledge of the situation, he knew that it was likely that Cao Cao was far stronger than he, and so, he refrained from indulging his desires and attacking the man.

"Partner, we need to get away, now." Kohryu advised, and Lelouch nodded quickly before Cao Cao's eyes suddenly narrowed and he suddenly leaped into the air, reaching the roof of the castle, and dashing away, melting away into the dark night.

"Ah, Lelouch, what are you doing out on the balcony like this alone?" Sirzechs asked as he approached the teen from behind.

"Sirzechs!" Lelouch exclaimed, surprised by the Devil's sudden appearance.

"You've made quite the mess, haven't you?" Sirzechs chuckled, walking in front of Lelouch to rest up against the stone railing confining them to the balcony. His armor clinked slightly as he turned to face Lelouch, back leaning up against the stone, using it as a crutch of sorts to support his large body.

"I mean, I didn't really expect you to make such a scene back there." Sirzechs sighed with a hint of amusement and a glint in his eye.

"So, I assume that they're out for blood then?" Lelouch replied, remembering the glares he had received from the majority of assembled Devils. He supposed that coming in and interrupting a marriage between Purebloods wasn't the best entrance he could have made.

Sirzechs shrugged his shoulders, "Well, they're obviously not all pleased with the turn of events. They were expecting the creation of a new Phenex-Gremory dynasty, and instead, received a human interruption. A few of the more liberal ones are tolerating your presence, but I would say that for the most part, you are not starting off on the right foot."

"How about you?" Lelouch asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

"Oh, I am ecstatic with the way things turned out, especially with your Sacred Gear! To think that you possessed something so powerful is interesting news indeed." Sirzechs replied happily.

"That's good to know, I suppose." Lelouch said with a nod.

"Yes, and to have beaten Riser with it was also impressive, although I could tell that you didn't have much experience with that Sacred Gear." Sirzechs added.

"Well, I've only possessed it for all of an hour." Lelouch responded dryly.

To his surprise, Sirzech's mouth turned up into a smile as he heard those words, "Well then, I think this is the perfect time to inform you of my plan then."

"Plan?" Lelouch asked, slightly concerned for what Sirzech's thoughts would entail.

"Yes. We both know that your body is not going to be able to handle the kind of power that will be necessary to fight someone beyond Riser's caliber. If you are going to utilize your Sacred Gear to fight, you will have to be able to absorb far more strength than you did against Riser. And from the way your body rejected the energy, I know that you have nowhere near the required capacity to store quintessence that you will have to fight the more powerful beings in this world with. I want you to learn how to wield your Sacred Gear, and to reach your full potential as quickly as possible, and I have just the plan in mind to do that." Sirzechs said firmly.

"And what is your solution?" Lelouch questioned, knowing that Sirzechs had made valid points.

"I have a certain cousin, who would be perfect for teaching you those things. His name is Sairoarg Bael, the heir to the Bael Clan. He knows better than anyone what it takes to reach your potential, trust me. However, there is a catch." Sirzechs began.

Lelouch nodded, "I'm listening."

The crimson haired Devil cleared his throat, before continuing, "The catch is, I would like you to become a Devil and join his peerage."

"Become a Devil?" Lelouch asked, shocked by the suggestion.

"It's going to be the fastest way for you to really improve your abilities. As a human, there isn't really much that can be done in a short period of time, but as a Devil, the possibilities are endless." Sirzechs replied.

"I'm sorry, but that's something that I can't really consider right now. Please, let me think about it before I make a decision." Lelouch pleaded.

"I understand." Sirzechs replied in a calm tone.

"Just be warned, there is still much that you do not know about yet when it comes to this world. And if you don't take action soon, you could be in serious trouble." He added before he patted Lelouch on the shoulder and walked past him.

As he heard Sirzech's footsteps disappear, Lelouch shook his head once, doing his best to think of what had just happened to him. Two different people had just made two very different offers to him, each intriguing in their own way.

* * *

Sona looked to Rias, a small frown pursed on her face as she found herself alone with the crimson haired Devil, with most of the partygoers in the process of leaving.

"So, you intend to marry Lelouch as well?" Sona asked, gaining her attention.

Instantly, Rias' eyes widened and she vigorously shook her head, "What? I thought I already told you that I wanted no such thing!"

"Your reaction says otherwise." Sona replied in a flat tone, face completely emotionless.

"I don't like Lelouch in that way!" Rias quickly stammered.

"Then I guess you won't mind if I tell you to keep your distance from him then." Sona stated, a smile on her face as she saw Rias reluctantly nod.

Lelouch was hers, and she was not going to let Rias take him, even if they were friends.

He was the first man to see her for what she was, to see past the intelligence and icy demeanor she had put up to keep intruders out. She had bared her thoughts and dreams to him, something she had only ever thought about doing, and was never planning to actually do. But he had been there, willing to listen and understand, a trait severely lacking in most people she knew, including her own parents.

He was really the only one who understood her true thoughts and feelings, even more than Serafall, who, for all of her siscon tendencies, still didn't really understand her true feelings like Lelouch did. And to think that Rias was going to come in and steal that was unthinkable.

"Of course." Rias replied weakly, her voice quivering slightly.

"Good." Sona said triumphantly, confident in her victory over one of Lelouch's potential suitors.

* * *

In the corner of the ballroom, Shirley leaned up against a wall, absent mindedly sipping a drink that was bland, at least to her. She had abandoned Jeremiah a while ago, having decided that she wanted to be alone for a little while.

She was exhausted from the incessant thoughts that raced through her mind daily. All she wanted was some answers. Why couldn't she remember exactly what events composed her childhood anymore? They had been so clear once upon a time, but she found that they got blurrier and blurrier as time went on. And Lelouch. Why couldn't she take her mind off of him? Why was it that his name constantly came to her mind?

"Have you heard about the planned execution?"

Shirley's ears instantly perked up at the words that had come out of a noble's mouth. Her eyes quickly honed in on the Devil and she tuned out all sound besides the conversation said Devil was having with another noble.

"Yes, the Fallen Angels are trying to kill one of those Geass users, right?"

Shirley's eyes widened as she realized that they were possibly talking about her father.

"Yeah. I heard that Azazel's trying to improve on Sacred Gears by researching those guys."

"It's going to be at one of the Grigori strongholds, right?" The Devil asked, to which the other nodded.

"Yeah, I heard that they're ramping up security this time, since last time, the execution was interrupted." He replied.

Shirley had heard enough. Immediately, she placed a hand in front of her body and muttered the incantation that she normally used to summon magical circles with. Her thoughts would have to wait. Right now, her chance to save her father had appeared, and she wasn't going to waste it.

* * *

"I see that his offer has you thinking." A familiar voice spoke out, causing Lelouch to turn and face Cao Cao once more, although this time, the smile on the teen's face seemed more strained than before.

"It's intriguing." Lelouch admitted, although he was careful with his response, now that he knew that even Kohryu was frightened by the spear that he possessed.

Cao Cao sighed, shaking his head, "Well then, I suppose I have no choice but to be more persuasive."

"Cao Cao, we have the magic circle prepared." A bespeckled man with wild black hair said, appearing from behind Cao Cao.

"Good job Georg. Lelouch," Cao Cao began beckoning towards Lelouch, "Come along."

Tentatively, Lelouch stepped forward, as if some unknown force was propelling him to follow the man's orders. He really had no choice in the matter. Either he went along, or he would more than likely understand exactly why Kohryu was so scared of that True Longinus.

"Now then, we're here." Cao Cao said in a soft tone as the three of them stepped out of the magical circle into what seemed to be a castle of some sorts, along it was in a state of disrepair, with damp and dank walls that sagged heavily, giving the impression that they would collapse at any time.

"Where exactly is this?" Lelouch asked.

"A Grigori stronghold." Cao Cao replied, "I'm about to demonstrate the strength of humanity."

Clandestinely, he led the trio through several passages, without any sign of guards at all. They continued through the castle until they reached a heavy wooden door, where Cao Cao placed a hand on Lelouch's chest.

"Now, let me go through first." He ordered, and immediately, Georg placed his hands on Lelouch's shoulders and urged him to do what the man said with a small look.

"Since our identity is not fully known to the world, I'll have to make this quick." Cao Cao sighed, twirling his spear around once before he gripped it tightly and the tip of the metal peeled away to reveal a blindingly bright blade of light underneath. Instantly, Lelouch recoiled at the sight, the intense light immediately searing his eyes with their brightness.

Without a sound, Cao Cao pulled his arms backwards and stabbed forward, immediately obliterating the door in one strike. As he did so, Lelouch could see the splinters of the wooden door fly in every direction, immediately impaling several Fallen Angels who seemed to be already embroiled in a battle inside.

"Oh? Someone else is here?" Georg remarked from besides Lelouch, who also took notice of that fact.

"It's a human." Cao Cao said with a serious face before he disappeared, right before Lelouch's eyes.

"Where did he go?" Lelouch exclaimed, amazed by the sight.

"He didn't just disappear. He's merely moving at a speed that our eyes cannot comprehend. You see, he is the most trained Human that is alive today. His training and technique surpass anyone without the use of any sort of special natural talent. That is why he wants to recruit you. To be able to find someone with a natural talent like the one you possess would be a major boon for our faction." Georg explained to Lelouch, who returned his eyes to the battlefield in awe.

Now that he was looking with a closer eye, he found that he could indeed see Cao Cao, who was bobbing and weaving through the ranks of Fallen Angels, essentially vaporizing them as he slashed with the True Longinus.

At the same time, he could see another combatant, who was currently using fire based magic from the distinctive flames that were being given off. However, the fighter's identity was unknown to him, as he had his back to Lelouch. He took a closer look, seeing a familiar head of orange hair, before the figure turned around, revealing it to be none other than Shirley.

"Shirley!" Lelouch cried out, instinctively leaping out of Georg's grasp and firing off a quick succession of lightning bolts at two Fallen Angels intent on ambushing her. However, he had no time to reach her before he was set upon by several more enemies, all who viciously flapped their wings at him. However, before any of them could even make a move to attack, their faces all suddenly contorted into expressions of pain as they collapsed to the ground, each one sliced in half.

"I told you to let me go first." Cao Cao admonished, his spear's tip sealing up, swallowing the intense light of his blade.

"But Shirley!" Lelouch replied, unsure of why he had gone to save her so suddenly.

"She's fine." Cao Cao interrupted, pointing to the decimated ranks of Fallen Angels lying dead on the ground behind him.

"Lelouch, why are you here?" Shirley asked, extinguishing the flames that were covering her hands.

"I should ask you the same." Lelouch answered quickly.

"My father. He was being held in this stronghold." Shirley replied, turning towards a large stone cross at the rear of the room, to which an elderly figure was chained.

She quickly ran up to the cross, causing Lelouch and Cao Cao to quickly follow behind.

"Father!" She screamed as she reached the foot of the cross, creating an intense flame in each of her hands that she quickly flung at the metal rings restraining him, melting them immediately and sending him falling into her arms.

"Shirley?" Seiryu asked weakly, laying eyes on his daughter for the first time in months.

Shirley softly cradled the older man, taking in his features. He seemed much thinner than he last remembered him, with his normally vibrant face more pale and gaunt. His face was hammered with bruises, and his scar seemed to be freshly opened, with dried blood in specks all over his face. His hair was coarse and rough, the result of a lack of hygiene, and it reached farther down his body, ending at the upper half of his back.

"Father, are you okay?" Shirley asked desperately, gently stroking the face of Seiryu, who closed his eyes at her soft touch, intending to soak up the moment while it lasted. As he slowly opened up his worn and jaded eyes, his vision veered to Lelouch's figure.

"You found him." He whispered softly, weakly raising a hand to point at Lelouch.

"Yes, I did just as you told me to." Shirley replied, relishing the smile that came over her father's face.

"Good. You did well, for the responsibility I unfairly thrust upon you." Seiryu breathed.

"I'm ready. I'm ready to do what it takes to protect our order." Shirley said, gripping her father's thin hands.

"Shirley, I'm proud of you." Seiryu gasped before he seized Shirley's right arm with surprising speed and force, considering his condition. As he did so, a faint pink light emitted from the palm of his hand for a few seconds before it disappeared.

In horror, Shirley retracted her arm to glance at what her father had done to see that there was a Geass sigil burned into her forearm, proudly displayed for all to see.

"No, Father, you can't be serious!" Shirley screamed as Seiryu peacefully closed his eyes.

"You're ready Shirley. You always were." He whispered, before he took one final breath. His entire body immediately relaxed in Shirley's arms, falling limp as if he were a rag doll, and not one of the great Masters of the Geass Order.

"He's dead." Cao Cao noted, understanding the change that had gone over the man immediately.

"He transferred his code to me." Shirley whispered in shock, tightly gripping her arm where the Geass sigil was located. Her father, the man who had loved her, raised her, and saved her life more times than she could count was dead. In that moment, it felt as if her world was falling apart at the seams as she looked down at his sleeping face, and she realized that she would never see him smile, or laugh again.

"Why would he do that?" Lelouch asked, understanding that one could theoretically live forever as long as they possessed a code.

"They broke him." Shirley whispered once.

"They broke him!" She screamed, her eyes narrowing and turning almost lizard like while a powerful gust of wind blew both Lelouch and Cao Cao backwards.

"I command you to calm down!" Lelouch screamed, two sigils appearing in his eyes and the Geass immediately taking effect as Shirley reverted quickly back to her human appearance and took a deep breath.

"Shirley, you understand whose fault it was that your father died, don't you?" Cao Cao suddenly asked from besides Lelouch.

Shirley nodded, a blank look in her eyes, "The Fallen Angels did it."

"Then you understand what we should do is get revenge, right?" Cao Cao asked.

"Yes. We should get revenge." Shirley repeated to herself, a twisted smile coming to her face as she giggled once, then twice before she exploded into an outburst of laughter.

"Then please, come join me on my quest to prove man's superiority." Cao Cao offered, extending his arm.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Lelouch cried out, interrupting the exchange.

"I'm merely doing my job to recruit any potential members that I see value in." Cao Cao replied coolly.

"But her father just died! You're just taking advantage of her feelings!" Lelouch protested.

"You do the same thing." Georg interjected, causing Lelouch to pause.

"What did you say?" Lelouch asked once, to make sure that he had heard correctly.

"You take advantage of others' feelings as well. For leaders, it is the natural thing to do. Wouldn't you say that you've done the same to the Sitri heir, or the Gremory heir? You've known the effect that you have on them, and you used it to your advantage." Georg stated.

"Yes, but…" Lelouch attempted to find a way to justify his actions.

"Face it. You are just as manipulative as me, but that is why we would work so well together. Think about it! With you and me working together, there's nothing we can't accomplish if we want to!" Cao Cao laughed.

"I'm not like you." Lelouch replied coldly.

"Ah, but you are." Cao Cao retorted.

"Even if that's true, I cannot work with you." Lelouch snapped.

"Know that if you do this, you will make a powerful enemy." Cao Cao warned.

"I know the risk, and I'm willing to risk the odds." Lelouch replied.

"Very well then. I will allow you to leave here. I suppose I'll just have to be content with Shirley here as a recruit." Cao Cao sighed.

"Shirley, you don't have to do this!" Lelouch pleaded, but Shirley merely stared back at him with hollow amber eyes. There was no life, no trace of the old Shirley that had once existed. Instead, what remained was almost a robot. One devoid of life and purpose aside from revenge, which provided the sole flame that Lelouch could see a faint trace of. Besides that, her eyes said nothing of who had once resided inside.

They were eyes that would haunt Lelouch for nights to come.

* * *

**So yeah, if you guys don't realize it yet, Shirley has now officially joined the Khaos Brigade. Also, Lelouch has been made an offer to become a Devil, or more specifically, Sairoarg's pawn. Honestly, I think that the relationship that could develop between Sairoarg, Lelouch, and Cao Cao could be very interesting, as they are (in my opinion) mirror images of each other. Cao Cao is like a Lelouch without any sort of inhibitions or a moral code, Lelouch has the ambition, leadership qualities, charisma, and drive that Sairoarg has, with the exception that he is more manipulative and uses his brains more than his brawn, and Sairoarg is like Cao Cao, as someone who is insanely driven and has trained himself to surpass his expected limitations, but is more wholesome. **

**I can understand if most of you guys expected Lelouch to become a king, but honestly, CrazySasori did a great job of convincing me that it really didn't make sense, so thank you. I mean, the political ramifications of such a move are just unimaginable and would have forced me to use some serious fridge logic to explain it if I hadn't gotten some advice from him. **

**Still though, I would appreciate any and all thoughts, either in a review or PM! Again, thank you for reading so far, and please, I hope you all continue to follow this story. **


	12. Chapter 12

**There isn't much to say here except that I apologize for the length in between updates. As time has gone on, I have found less and less time to write, with schoolwork and sports piling up. And so, without further ado, here is the continuation of Of Queens and Emperors.**

* * *

Chapter 12

"Please Shirley, this isn't something you have to do. You don't have to get revenge." Lelouch pleaded with the orange haired girl who had just declared war on the Fallen Angels and had joined Cao Cao's faction.

"Ah, but she does. Revenge is a more powerful urge than you realize." Cao Cao interrupted, intervening in place of Shirley, who merely stared back at Lelouch with hard eyes.

"Revenge." Lelouch said to himself before a familiar splitting ran through his mind, bringing him to his knees as he clutched his forehead in agony. The pain was more pronounced than it had been in the past, specifically pounding away at the back of his head, as if it was focusing on something in the back of his mind. Suddenly a flash of images came to his mind, and he saw it all unfold before him.

* * *

"_You people killed my mother!" He spat angrily in the face of the blonde haired man that he instinctively knew to be his brother, Clovis. He was inside of Clovis' mobile base, and he was in complete control, with a gun placed right up to the nervous blonde's temple, his finger just itching to pull the trigger. _

_To tell the truth, he was silently relishing the moment. To see Clovis tremble, and to see those blue eyes, wide with shock and fear, it was euphoric. He had lived with vengeance burning in his heart for all of his life, and now, he was finally going to have his chance to enact revenge. It would finally be retribution for his innocent mother, slaughtered at the hands of the Imperial Family. _

_It was all their fault. He didn't know how they did it, but he knew exactly why. They always looked down on his mother for being a commoner, and, to a slight extent, they saw him as one too. In a way, he was getting his revenge not only for his mother, but also for himself. He and Nunnally didn't deserve the treatment they received, being thrown aside like rag dolls. _

_He would enact revenge upon everyone, and they would all pay for what they had done! It was only fair! He had lost something precious and dear to him, and now, they would all feel his wrath! _

"_I swear it wasn't me! I had nothing to do with it!" Clovis screamed, Lelouch's Geass having just worn off. His interrogation had gotten him nowhere closer to uncovering the truth unfortunately. What he did know was that Clovis was innocent._

"_I believe you." Lelouch said, lowering his gun for a moment before he suddenly pointed it back up, jamming it right in Clovis' face, "However,"_

"_Please, you can't! We're still brothers!" Clovis pleaded, but to no avail._

_He would not be stopped. Familial ties had no place when it came to vengeance. He was going to get his revenge, one way or another._

"_You can't change the world without getting your hands dirty." Lelouch sighed, a devilish grin coming over his face as he pulled the trigger._

* * *

Lelouch panted as his mind played out the rest of the scene with astounding clarity. His eyes were wide in shock as he relived his deeds. Although he had told Shirley that revenge wasn't necessary, his memories were telling him anything but. He had been on the warpath as well, which made him no better than Shirley. This realization made him go silent, unable to say anything in response to Cao Cao's words.

"You understand, don't you? Well then, I suppose we have to be on our way." Cao Cao said, nodding to Georg, who began summoning a magic circle.

"My offer still stands." Cao Cao said as the magic circle took effect, transporting the three humans in a flash of red, leaving Lelouch alone with the withered remains of Seiryu.

"Partner, we have to move!" Kohryu insisted from within Lelouch, who remained motionless.

* * *

"Lelouch, are you okay? You haven't said anything since the party." Sona asked worriedly, placing a hand upon Lelouch's own, causing him to flinch slightly at the contact before he relaxed into her grip. However, his mouth stayed sealed and his eyes stared forward blankly, even as she could see him grow more comfortable in her presence.

She and Serafall had found him standing alone outside of the front gates of the castle in his current state just as they were about to leave the party. However, she had gotten no information from him about why or how he got out there. In fact, she had barely managed to elicit any sort of response from him for the last few hours, only occasionally receiving empty nods and slight hand gestures in response to her repeated inquiries.

It was almost as if he had been traumatized by something, but by what, she could not understand, even as she observed his blank violet eyes, still devoid of any sort of life.

"I'll break the spell!" Serafall cried out, smacking his head with her wand, causing his head to fall forward, but he did not so much as wince at the strike, quickly righting himself and resuming with his original position, his messy black hair now splayed out across his hard and emotionless face.

"I'm sorry." He whispered suddenly, breaking his self imposed silence.

"You're all right!" Sona sighed in relief, wrapping Lelouch in a tight hug that he reciprocated with equal strength. If anything, he actually gripped her tighter than she gripped him, as if he was about to lose her forever.

"Sona, I'm sorry." He repeated into her shoulder, crying softly as he did. He couldn't hold it back anymore. Not when the image of Shirley, with her eyes burning with revenge and her shoulders slumped in defeat and depression, was still seared into his mind. He had failed her because he hadn't been strong enough to mount an attack on the Fallen Angel stronghold.

Even though he had trained for months, it still had not been enough, and in the end, she paid the price for his weakness. Although he knew that Seiryu wasn't her actual father, she had no way of knowing that. To her, it was as if she were losing a legitimate parent. And he knew that feeling all too well. The anger at the world, the fear for the future, the void that was left by losing such an integral part of one's life, he knew it all too well. And yet, he hadn't been able to save her from that fate.

"Why are you crying? If you're okay, that's all that matters." Sona reassured, gently stroking his back. Although she was glad that he was at least speaking, his sudden breakdown was concerning to her, to say the least.

"I failed her. I failed her completely." He choked out as tears fell from his face. He knew that he was responsible, and seeing her experience the same thing that he had only served to reawaken those feelings. Most of all, he had felt the desire for revenge coursing through his veins, and he knew exactly what it would do to Shirley.

It would eat away at her and consume her, until she was a monster who wouldn't be able to recognize herself in the mirror. Her life was ruined, and it was all his fault.

"Failed who?" Sona asked concernedly .

Lelouch took a deep breath for a moment, stopping his sobbing, "Shirley. She's joined them, and it's all my fault."

Sona's eyes narrowed at his words, "What do you mean by them?"

"Cao Cao and Georg. They took her away, and I was powerless to fight back against them. I was so weak." He said angrily, slamming his fist against their bed, threatening to punch right through the mattress.

"Lelouch, listen to me. You are not weak!" Sona screamed straight in his face, causing the raven haired teen to stop and stare at her in shock.

"If you were, I never would have fallen in love with you." She whispered the second part, almost stumbling over her words. In response, Lelouch placed his hands on her shoulder and pulled her figure towards him, nestling his head in the crook of her neck.

"Thank you. I…I love you too." He replied softly, saying the second part slowly. It was nothing but the whole truth. There had been a time when he had been interested in nothing but using her for his plans. But now that she had seen him at his weakest, and had still accepted him, he could no longer deny it.

He needed someone to rely on, someone who would be there for him when he was at his lowest, and still support him. And so far, Sona had proven to be that person. She was the person who he wasn't afraid to confide in, and she was the person he wasn't afraid to cry in front of, because, more than anyone else, she knew that he was mortal, with weaknesses that were every bit as prevalent as his strengths.

It may have been just in the situation, or maybe it could be attributed to the mess of hormones he currently was, but he couldn't help but feel an immense attraction towards Sona in that moment, and he felt an immense desire to hold her close to him and for her to comfort him in his time of need. He knew that maybe these feelings weren't a result of rational thinking, but he didn't care, and he didn't want to care. What he wanted was for someone that cared about him and didn't let him feel like a failure. What he wanted was to be with Sona. As those feelings coursed through his veins, he knew that there was no longer any doubt about it.

He was truly in love with her.

* * *

Watching her sister and her boyfriend confess to each other in such an intimate way, Serafall could only sit and stare at her lap. Nobody had ever spoken to her in a way like that before.

It was her fault, she knew. By continuing to act like a child, no one ever took her seriously. And no one would ever look at her in the way that Lelouch and Sona were looking at each other in that moment. At this realization, Serafall could feel her heart drop and strangely, she felt depressed at the notion.

"So this is what real pain is?" She whispered to herself, clutching her chest tightly. All she wanted was for someone to look past her childish exterior, and see that there was still someone underneath. Someone with real feelings and real worries. Someone who needed to be loved intimately. She had her fans, and they were important, without a doubt. But none of them knew the real her, and none of them were interested.

All they cared about was the Magical Girl Leviathan, not about Serafall. That was the choice that she had made when she had chosen to take on the persona of a magical girl, and it was the choice she had wanted to make.

So why did she hurt so badly right now?

* * *

Sunlight poked through the slightly askew violet blinds of Sona's room, causing Lelouch to stir slightly in his sleep as the light washed over his face. It was peaceful, a large contrast to the worry and weight that it normally carried through the night. On his naked chest, Sona slept gently using Lelouch as her pillow while he kept a protective arm wrapped around her figure. To the side of them was an empty space where Serafall would normally be.

As he slowly awoke to the sounds of dragons hissing, Lelouch peered down on the noticeable weight that was plaguing him all through the night, giving her a slight shake. For a moment, he watched silently as Sona lightly stirred at his touch, and he couldn't help but think that she looked incredibly cute without her glasses on as she lifted her head off of his chest and lightly rubbed her eyes.

Immediately, he shook his head at the thoughts, attributing it to hormones before he recalled the confession he had made to her last night. He loved her, and it wasn't really uncommon for him to think that about her in that way, considering that fact.

"Good morning Lelouch." Sona said drowsily, crawling forward to get face to face with a flustered Lelouch, whose blush only reddened as she gave him a good morning kiss.

As she stood up, revealing her naked pale figure in its entirety, Lelouch observed that, for someone who he normally thought of as being rather conservative and prudish, Sona was awfully skilled at using her body to steal his attention. For the moment, Sona continued with her normal morning routine, unaware of the effect she was having on Lelouch, alleviated by the nightgown she slipped on after finding it discarded on the floor.

Stretching out slightly, Sona crossed to the blinds, pulling them wide open and admiring the sunlight that instantly warmed the entire room. She took a deep breath of clean air with her eyes closed before she opened them to see a familiar looking carriage parked outside of the entrance of their castle.

"What? You're stealing my precious sister's boyfriend?" Serafall asked angrily with her cheeks puffed out, while Sirzechs nervously nodded. He had not intended on arguing with Serafall when he had come to the Sitri residence this morning, but he knew that if wanted to get to Lelouch, first he would have to convince the current Leviathan that his plan was for the best.

"Yes. We both know that he has a lot of potential as a Sacred Gear user, and he could be an asset on our side. We just don't know exactly how good he is yet. Under Sairoarg, he'll learn and mature far more quickly than any normal human ever could." Sirzechs replied from his seat across from Serafall in the Sitri Clan's dining room. It was large and spacious, with most modern amenities contained within, and most importantly, a small table that was perfect for discussions.

"But still…" Serafall trailed off, unable to truly think of anything to say in response. Sirzechs was right, as much as she didn't want to admit it.

"Serafall, I know that, for the most part, we ignore our jobs. But now, this is an opportunity we can't pass up. Think about it! If we have two of the Heavenly Dragons on our side, wouldn't we finally have the leverage in negotiations? And if we have that, then maybe we can finally make our dream of peace between the factions a reality!" Sirzechs argued.

"I just don't know if it is right that we're taking him away from the life he's created for himself to serve our own purposes." Serafall replied, abandoning her usual tone for one that was far more serious and mature, understanding the severity of the situation.

"It's for the best. It'll have to be." Sirzechs sighed. He didn't feel incredible about what he was doing either, but there was no way that he could let a chance for peace slip by without him making some sort of effort.

Before Serafall could say anything else, they both turned at the realization that someone else was about to enter the dining room from the faint footsteps each of them picked up.

In strode Lelouch, who was dressed in a simple white t shirt and black shorts, followed shortly by Sona, who was still dressed in her nightgown and currently in the process of wiping the sleep out of her eyes.

As Lelouch sleepily scanned the room, his eyes widened at the sight of the crimson haired Devil.

"Sirzechs, what are you doing here?" He asked, surprised by his sudden appearance.

"Lelouch, I've come to ask you for your decision. Are you going to become a Devil or not?" Sirzechs asked frankly, immediately putting Lelouch on the spot.

"Devil?" Sona asked suddenly, having not been informed of Sirzechs' plan.

"Yes, I've offered Lelouch the chance to become a Devil, as a part of Sairoarg Bael's peerage." Sirzechs explained, causing Sona's eyes to widen at the sudden development concerning her boyfriend.

"Lelouch! Why didn't you tell me about this?" Sona asked, hurt that Lelouch had not deemed it important enough to inform her that he was going to join someone else's peerage.

"I wasn't sure about my decision. And I'm still not sure." Lelouch replied, directing the second part of his statement at Sirzechs.

"I'm sorry. I understand your reasoning, and I can see the benefits. But I cannot make a decision without first meeting Sairoarg." Lelouch continued.

"I figured you might say such a thing, so I took the liberty of inviting Sairoarg as well." Sirzechs sighed as his cousin walked into the room as well, clearly having just woke up from the unkempt appearance he had.

"Can we clear out the room?" Lelouch requested, to which Sirzechs nodded.

"Of course." He said, standing up from his seat and ushering Serafall and Sona out of the room, leaving Lelouch alone with Sairoarg, but not before he received a concerned look from Sona.

"So, you are still considering my invitation to join my peerage, right?" Sairoarg began, shaking his head once to fully wake up. He wanted to be fully alert when it came to this conversation. He was on the verge of gaining an exceptional pawn, and he could not miss this opportunity.

"Yes, although it is as a pawn." Lelouch said the last part with particular venom, still slightly insulted by the thought. However, at the same time, he knew that training under Sairoarg would be the fastest way for him to improve and to grow strong enough to protect Sona. He could not fail her like he had failed Shirley.

"I will tell you now that I treat all of my servants with the upmost respect that they deserve and require." Sairoarg finished, not amused by Lelouch's attitude.

"And I want to let you know that I will not be dominated by you. This is an equal partnership, one that is mutually beneficial, not that of a master-servant relationship." Lelouch interrupted, still determined to keep his independence.

Sairoarg looked at Lelouch's expression, which was completely serious, and released a hearty laugh at his words.

"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way!" He chuckled, holding his hand out to shake Lelouch's.

"I appreciate someone with the same kind of ambition as me. To suppress someone like that would be akin to suppressing myself." Sairoarg said with a smile.

"So, I guess this is the beginning of our partnership." He offered hopefully, waiting for Lelouch's response.

Lelouch looked at the outstretched hand, before he smiled in turn and grasped the open fingers in a firm handshake.

"I look forward to the outcome of this partnership." He replied.

As they finished shaking hands, the door opened and Sirzechs strode in, followed by Sona and Serafall.

"I'm glad to see that you've made the right decision." He said happily.

"All right then, I'll make the circle right away!" Sairoarg exclaimed, placing his hand out in front of him to create a magical circle, before he directed Lelouch to lie down in the middle.

Placing a deep purple pawn piece on Lelouch's chest, Sairoarg began the incantation.

"I command thee, Lelouch, on my name, Sairoarg Bael, become my servant and become a Devil. Thou shall now live a life of great fulfillment as my pawn!" He chanted, causing the pawn to glow brightly and sink into Lelouch's chest.

* * *

"How do you feel?"

Lelouch couldn't respond to Sirzech's question as he strained his eyes open, despite an overwhelming desire to close them in weariness. His whole body was slick with sweat, and his chest heaved up and down, breathing hard, and his heart beating at a million miles an hour. His head was pounding, almost as if someone was wildly hammering away at it, but he could not find the strength in his gelatin arms to try and massage away the pain.

His tongue felt like sandpaper, with a distinct coppery taste of blood that he assumed to be his own, and his throat was dry and raw from dehydration. He blinked once, giving his thirsty eyes some relief as a soothing layer of mucous was spread over the instrument of vision.

A distinct ringing drowned out all possible thought, causing Lelouch to glance around, confused as to where he was and why he was there, mind far too overloaded with sensations of pain to think clearly.

"Lelouch!" Sona cried out in concern, trying to push Sirzechs and Sairoarg out of the way. However, she found that the iron grip of Serafall held her back from moving in.

"All right, I'll take that as a bad sign." Sirzechs said with a frown on his face, "But Ajuka spent so much time creating these. There shouldn't be anything wrong with it."

Weakly, Lelouch managed a nod, wincing in pain as he did so. He saw Sairoarg hover two hands over his chest and suddenly begin glowing red for a second before he lowered his arms.

"It seems like your life force is taking longer in adjusting to your Devil body than I originally anticipated. But from the looks of it, you'll be fine in a few minutes." The young Devil sighed, a relieved look on his face.

True to his word, the pain slowly began subsiding within minutes, until it reached the point where it was no longer noticeable. Gratefully, Lelouch lifted himself up, finding that his strength had returned to him after its temporary disappearance. In fact, it seemed that not only had his original strength been recovered, but it seemed that he was actually stronger than before, if possible.

With an incredulous look in his eyes, Lelouch searched up and down his body, finding that, at least physically, nothing had significantly changed, with the exception of a slightly increased muscle tone that could not have accounted for the significant increase in power that he was currently experiencing.

"You feel stronger now, right?" Sirzechs asked, to which Lelouch nodded, awed at the change that had come over him.

"This is incredible." He replied, flexing his fingers, noticing the metal glint of the Celestial Manipulate.

"Right. How exactly did you know so much about my Sacred Gear earlier? I don't remember telling anybody the details of its abilities." Lelouch asked.

"Well, that's simple, considering that we Three Factions were responsible for sealing Kohryu into that ring." Sirzechs explained cheerily.

However, Kohryu's reaction was less than cordial, consisting of angry growls that blared into Lelouch's ears.

"Why is it that you felt the need to transport Kohryu to another dimension?" Lelouch pressed on, determined to get answers.

"As you know, the Boosted Gear's abilities are to transfer and to double power, while the Divine Dividing's ability is to divide and to absorb power. The Celestial Manipulate is more moderate, with the ability to add and subtract power.

However, whereas Ddraig and Albion essentially cancel each other out with their contradicting abilities, there was nothing to moderate the third Heavenly Dragon's abilities, which were still on a mid tier Longinus level in terms of total strength. So, the only solution we could find was to eliminate the third Heavenly Dragon by sending him to another dimension in which there would never be any circumstances that would allow for the use of the Celestial Manipulate." Sirzechs explained at length while Lelouch sat back and listened intently.

"And yet, here I am." Lelouch said, causing Sirzechs to nod his head slightly.

"Yes, that is true. However, at the same time, the circumstances of the world have changed. Now, it seems that war is winding down, and hopefully, it can stop altogether. Once that happens, the Three Factions should once again have no problem keeping the Heavenly Dragons in check." He replied.

"But for now, what matters is that you need to train as hard as you can to become a capable user of your Sacred Gear. When the time arises, I will contact you once more." He added before he stood to his full height and turned to leave.

"Sona, I'm sorry that I have to take Lelouch, but you have to understand that three pawn pieces would never have been enough to contain his potential." Sairoarg apologized to Sona, who nodded in response. She was hurt by the fact that Lelouch was going to leave her and Serafall, but she understood his reasons, and she had no choice but to accept his decision.

"Lelouch. I still love you, so please, finish your training as quickly as you can and come back to us." She said, hugging Lelouch tightly.

"I will. I promise that I'll become strong enough to protect all of you." He whispered into her ear before he pulled away and stood next to Sairoarg as he summoned a magic circle of his own.

"I'll be back soon." Lelouch reassured as he saw red cloud his vision.

* * *

"Welcome to my humble abode." Sairoarg joked as they rematerialized in front of a large stone castle that was every bit as impressive, if not more so than the Sitri Clan's. It was the picture of a typical medieval castle, complete with large walls, battlements, and various towers jutting out of the main keep.

At the sight, Lelouch couldn't help but to feel a bit awestruck as he began to realize the power and strength of the Bael Clan, which had to be strong to have birthed someone like Sirzechs.

Sairoarg pushed open the large wooden doors that had greeted them with relative ease, revealing a beautiful blonde girl with her long hair tied in a ponytail, who instantly bowed as she saw Sairoarg.

"Welcome back, Master." She greeted, suddenly glancing at Lelouch, who had seen the exchange.

"Hello Kuisha. I trust that nothing of note occurred while I was away?" Sairaorg replied, bowing as well to her, a detail that wasn't lost on Lelouch.

"No. Is this the new pawn that you mentioned earlier?" She asked, nodding her head at Lelouch.

"Yes! This is Lelouch!" Sairoarg said happily, patting Lelouch on the back.

"I'm Kuisha Abaddon, the queen of Sairoarg Bael." Kuisha introduced herself, while Lelouch did the same.

"Now then, I'll introduce you to the rest of my peerage, but first, let's spar for a little. I need to train a bit today, and it would be a good chance for me to see exactly what I need to work on with you." Sairoarg decided, leading Lelouch into his castle and towards a room that was devoid of anything but exercise mats that covered every inch of the ground.

"All right, get yourself prepared!" Sairoarg yelled out suddenly, a bright glow covering his body as he did so.

Surprised by the sudden movement, Lelouch had just enough time to put up a wall of ice before Sairoarg punched forward, completely shattering the wall with one punch. As he pulled his fist backwards, Lelouch could feel the intense power radiating from the teen, which materialized itself as a bright glow that Lelouch didn't need Celestial Manipulate to see.

"Celestial Manipulate!" Lelouch cried out, the Sacred Gear responding to his command as his vision darkened, with the only thing visible being the thickly packed mass of quintessence that was Sairaorg. Lelouch gritted his teeth as he realized that absorbing even a tiny portion of the Devil's power would likely overload his body immediately due to the insane amount that was present.

He was no ordinary Devil, that much was for sure.

"You understand then, that I am no pushover." Sairoarg remarked, understanding that Lelouch had just scanned his body.

"I realize that." Lelouch replied, getting into a fighting stance, although he knew that victory was likely already out of reach.

"Partner, I don't know that we can win, even if I lend you my strength. It still wouldn't be enough for someone of his caliber." Kohryu lamented, irked at the fact that he would not be able to overcome Sairoarg.

"I understand. But I can't just give in. Not if I want to become strong enough to protect Sona." Lelouch replied, igniting his fists.

As Sairoarg saw Lelouch stare him down with an intense fire in his eyes, he couldn't help but to smile. It seemed that, at the least, Lelouch had the desire to fight, even in unwinnable conditions. That was certainly a good sign for improvement in the future.

"All right then, I'm not holding back!" Sairoarg announced before he dug his heels into the ground and launch off, moving forward fast enough to disappear from sight.

Lelouch saw the Devil disappear from sight, only to reappear directly in front of him a split second later, affording Lelouch just enough time to put his hands up in a desperate attempt to stop Sairoarg's strike. However, even with his arms crossed in front of his face, Lelouch felt himself fly backwards as Sairoarg delivered an earth-shattering punch, sending Lelouch straight into the stone wall behind him.

As he hit the wall with a force strong enough to shatter glass, Lelouch felt himself lose his breath, dropping to the floor and onto his elbows. As the pain registered in his mind, he screamed out in agony and coughed out a lungful of blood, clutching his arms in pain.

However, he had no time to dwell on it as Sairoarg was suddenly upon him once more, ready to deliver a kick to his weakened figure. In an instinctive move, Lelouch dove out of the way of the attack, glancing back to see that Sairoarg's kick had left a dent in the wall behind with its sheer force.

"Ceelestial Manpulate!" Lelouch cried out in desperation, focusing on drawing in enough quintessence to allow him to get back to his feet. As the small specks of light were assimilated into his body, Lelouch could feel some of his strength return to him, and with some difficulty, he pulled himself up to stand across from Sairoarg, a defiant look in his eyes.

"Oh, it seems that you want to continue." Sairoarg chuckled, holding one arm out and gesturing for Lelouch to come forward, "Please, come."

Although he knew that Sairoarg was just baiting him, Lelouch knew that he had no other choice but to attack.

With an impassioned scream, Lelouch enveloped his entire body in a searing violet flame and slapped his arms together in front of his body, forming them into a conduit to send a torrent of flame at Sairoarg. However, to his surprise, Sairoarg didn't even make a move to evade the strike, opting instead to simply punch the flames away.

"Please, you'll have to try harder than that." Sairoarg mocked.

"We really can't win." Kohryu gasped, also exhausted by the fight.

Lelouch weakly nodded, but did his best to shake off his exhaustion and rushed forward, punching at Sairoarg with all of his force. In response, Sairoarg delivered a punch of his own, meeting Lelouch's fist at its apex.

As the two hands met, Lelouch focused all of his strength into the strike, trying to overcome Sairoarg. However, he was hit with an intense pain from that hand as Sairoarg followed through on his punch, completely shattering Lelouch's hand.

"Ahh!" Lelouch screamed out as a vicious pain rocked his entire body, clutching his fractured hand closely to his body. The organ was completely deformed, and it was mangled to a disgusting degree, with fingers pointing off in different directions and the rest of the hand being nothing more than a limp mess of flesh and bone.

There was no time for him to even notice the final strike that Sairoarg delivered before he felt the Devil's boot dig into his stomach and send him flying into the mat.

The last thing he saw before the world went black was the sight of Sairoarg standing over him, a triumphant smirk on his face.

* * *

**I know that it wasn't a popular decision to make Lelouch into a pawn, but I think that Lelouch could not have viably become any stronger as a human. It took years upon years for Cao Cao to reach the level of physical perfection he is at, and I just don't think that Lelouch could have ever reached that level. Instead, as a pawn of Sairoarg, he can work with a King that respects him as an equal, in addition to meeting an extremely loyal group of servants who would be willing to support Lelouch in the future. So in the end, I think that Lelouch becoming Sairoarg's pawn was the best choice for both parties. **

**However, if you guys are really interested in the idea, I might end up writing another fic in which Cao Cao and Lelouch work together. It's just that, considering his relationships in this story, it wouldn't really make much sense for him to become a member of the Khaos Brigade. Maybe if Cao Cao was the first person he met in the DxD universe, then I could see why he would join. But as it stands right now, with his most prominent relationships being that of Devils and a Fallen Angel, there is no way I can see Lelouch joining Cao Cao. **

**As usual, if you guys have any thoughts or ideas, please leave them either in the form of a review or PM. **

**Also, if you guys don't know, I've started an anime blog that will review some lesser known series or at least, ones that I think are under appreciated. Right now, I'm giving reviews on Oreshura and Psycho Pass. Please check it out from the link on my profile. Every hit really means a lot to me. Thanks for reading!**


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